That Infernal Question
by badboysam
Summary: Can a guy and a girl ever just be friends? Especially when one of them is a sex shark? Prequel to I'm Back. By popular demand this is now my first ever attempt at a multi chapter fic. I do not own Glee.
1. First Friends

_**Guys, I'm totally blown away by the response to I'm Back! It was the best Christmas present ever! There is clearly so much love in the Samcedes ship and now you have a new convert! I love them and I love you! The Samcedes response has left all my other stories and ships in the dust. So here is another just to say thanks.**_

_**One reviewer pointed out that my version of Sam is AU and OOC (and in my view way more fun) but I made him a bit less aggressive and tried to make things fit the show as much as possible. **_

* * *

><p>"Wow Blondie! I had no idea that you could cuss like that in Na'vi. But I can't say I don't blame you!"<p>

Sam looked up from his seat and did a double take at Mercedes. Coming to think of it, she _had_ been sitting next to him the whole time. The rest of the Glee club had filtered out of the choir room but he had stubbornly remained in his seat, cursing Santana, cursing Karofsky, cursing his public humiliation… hell, even still cursing Quinn for cheating on him! He still wasn't exactly sure what had just happened, but he knew he'd been screwed over yet again. Having to sit through Santana singing Trouty Mouth had been bad enough, and now she'd gone back for seconds. That bitch really didn't know where to get off. _Fucking Bullywhips? _Santana in _love? _The girl still had no clue which she liked the most out of cock, pussy or toys! And coming from an all boy boarding school, he'd also had suspicions about the motivation behind Karofsky's bullying for a while now too.

"Come on, we can chew the fat over it at my place. You look like you could use some fried chicken."

Sam frowned. What the hell was she talking about?

"Oh hell no... Do _not _tell me that you forgot again!"

He could see the irritation rising in her and tried to hide the confusion on his face. "Of course I didn't forget that I am supposed to... to be working on the English project with you today after Glee!" Relief flooded his body as the furthest recesses of his brain finally gave up the information he needed.

"Good. Because you've already had your ass whipped once this afternoon. I wasn't really feeling giving it a second."

He grinned and stood, relieved that he'd remembered just in time and pulling his bag onto his shoulder. Hit bit down the temptation to reply that an ass whipping from any girl would be one of the highlights of his day. Somehow he didn't think Mercedes Jones would appreciate that type of flirtation. She wasn't the flirtatious type really. But she'd probably make a really good Dom…

Especially in that Rocky Horror outfit...

That shit would definitely work!

He frowned down at her as they walked down the hall together. "So you can speak Na'vi?"

She shrugged noncomittaly. "I wouldn't say I can speak it well, but I definitely know my insults and cursings when I hear them!"

"Seriously? Quinn and Santana shot me down if I dared to speak in Na'vi and yet you can recognize it and know what I'm saying."

"Means you've been hanging out with the wrong girls. You can either be skinny, pretty and popular or you can actually have a life! I like to think that the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive but some days I have my doubts."

Sam already knew that. His Casanova persona was the polar opposite of his geeky comic and Avatar loving soul. So far, the only time Na'vi had been a help was to get him a quickie in the bathrooms at Comic Con. The two needed to be kept far apart if he was going to have any kind of sexual success in life.

"Are you trying to say that I'm a dork?"

She didn't break her stride. "All I'm saying is that I've sat behind you in English for the whole year which means I notice every single time you pull out one of those Marvel comics that you keep tucked inside the textbook sleeve."

Wait! Obviously they were in the same class but she sat behind him? How did he not notice? Then he remembered that he sat across from the Cheerio with huge nipples who never wore a bra. Between her and the comics nothing else settled in his brain during that particular class!

She clearly caught the expression of surprise on his face. "You see the great thing about being invisible is that you get to see all sorts of things about other people without them noticing that you're even looking."

"But you're not invis-"

"My car is the gray Sedan." She ran ahead of him down the front steps. "I'll stop by the main gate and you can follow me home. It's not far."

And then she was gone.

* * *

><p>The Jones home was just as he had expected it. Comfortable without being flashy. They sat at the breakfast bar tucking into the most delicious fried chicken he'd ever tasted. He hadn't even realized how hungry he was until the first mouthful had hit. Even the salad it was served with tasted good, and Sam wasn't usually one for salad! Unfortunately, Mercedes managed to make his appetite start to dwindle with her choice of conversation topics.<p>

"So I guess you had no clue about Satan and Karofsky before then announced themselves to the world?"

Sam shook his head, focusing on chewing the piece of chicken in his mouth as his emotions began to swirl again.

"Wow! I know she can be a bitch, but that was new heights, even for her. She always has an ulterior motive. Let's see what it is this time."

He swallowed and decided to be uncharacteristically diplomatic. "Her motive was to provide a safe school environment for Kurt to come back to."

Mercedes clearly saw straight through his measured response. "Humph! That may be a coincidental effect from what's going on, but I doubt that it's the main reason."

"I thought you liked Santana!"

"Sometimes. When she's human. Most of her heart is actually quite good. But sometimes… just sometimes, I really wanna cutabitch!"

Sam choked as he laughed and she joined him.

"Well at least you're not looking as cut up as I thought you'd be. For a moment on the drive back I started to panic and wonder what I would do if you started crying on me when you got here."

He shook his head and laughed louder. "Big boys don't cry!" he cried in a Jersey Boys falsetto. "Besides, me and San were never really serious anyway."

"You looked pretty serious at Rachel's party!"

"That was just alcohol fueled fun. And even then I thought she was going to razorblade me when I kissed Brittany on spin the bottle! San and I were just- well, we just _were _and now we_ aren't _and I'm not really that cut up about it. I'm not even sure why she even offered to be my girlfriend. She doesn't like me most of the time anyway!"

"Wait! She _offered_ to be your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. She was the one who told me about Quinn cheating. Hell, she was even the one that gave them mono! I guess we were both out to get something out of it, even though it was not necessarily each other. I still got to be with a Cheerio and she got back at Quinn knowing that deep down Quinn still wants me." Sam was surprised at himself. He had no idea why he was opening up to this girl but somehow it was easy.

Mercedes sat back on her stool. "Wow! That is _so_ not how I thought it all went down. So are you going to beat Karofsky tomorrow?"

"Nah. They deserve each other." He reached over for his fourth piece of chicken, purposely ignoring the side eye he was being shot for his greed. "I'm not mad about me and San ending, it's the way that it was done that pisses me off. And to be honest, I have my doubts about both their sexualities anyway."

Mercedes' eyes widened and she nodded in agreement. "Me too! San is way too into Britts and Karofsky stares at Kurt far too much for my liking. But he always has this expression like he doesn't know whether to kiss him or hit him."

Sam paused. "You miss him don't you."

"Who? Kurt?"

"No! Karofsky…"

She rolled her eyes again. "Of course I miss Kurt. We were besties. But now he has Dalton, and he has Blaine… hell he's even got Finn as a stepbrother now which means he hasn't got much time for me."

"So who do you hang out with then?"

She shrugged. "Tina, Artie…"

He thought it through. Tina had Mike, Artie had Brittany. Something in her tone of voice said that she wasn't too happy with the way things were. Her sass was slipping. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Her face was sad but as she caught him looking at her she snapped back up and pulled the bowl of chicken away from him.

"That's enough Blondie! My dad will draw blood if there isn't enough left for him!"

It was as if she has just put her shields up right before his eyes. He was going to have to try harder with this one. "I'll get us some paper and we can work through some ideas for the assignment."

She abruptly turned and walked out of the kitchen and he didn't even bother to hide the fact that his eyes followed the curve of her ass as she walked away from him.

By the time she had returned with the things they needed he'd thrown away the bones and stacked their plates in the sink. She was in study mode now and for the next hour it was Shakespeare until his head hurt.

"Fì'u nìhawng nìtxan!"

"No it isn't. You just have to concentrate!"

It was time for his second double-take of the afternoon. "I thought you said you only recognized a little bit of Na'vi!"

"Well I didn't want to look like a complete dork did I!"

He chuckled. Mercedes Jones was pulling out surprises all over the shop today. He threw a pen lid at her. "Are you trying to say that I'm a dork?"

She pretended to think about it for a moment before grinning and nodding.

That was it. He leapt off his stool and ran to grab her but she twisted out of his reach. "Txìng oe nì'awtu!"

"Kawkrr!" He went to reach for her again but thought better of it. With any other girl he would have chased them, wrestled them to the ground and seen how far his luck would take him with them. But strangely there was something stopped him with Mercedes and he reluctantly let her go.

"Maybe I can help you." Her eyes were serious again after their moment of stupidity.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you struggle with English because of your dyslexia. Maybe when we finish this project I can tutor you. Not with the deep stuff, but maybe just with the reading and research."

He bit his lip as he thought about it and she seemed almost nervous as she waited for his response. "I mean, with Kurt gone I have plenty of time for that kind of thing."

It began with a smile. "Sure. I'd like that. But only if you want to."

"Okay."

"Will there be food?"

She nodded. "Every time."

"Oh then I totally want to!"

"So when do we start?"

"Well I have practice tomorrow but maybe we can continue on Thursday after school?"

"Sure." She was smiling too. And something about that smile made her eyes light up. Sam Evans never usually actually noticed crap like that. He would just say it to get girls. But this time he actually _did_ see it. Not only that, he was secretly pleased to be the cause.

He grabbed his bag as it was more than time to go and her parents would be back soon. Following her to the front door he smiled down at her again. "Thanks for today Mercedes. I really needed this."

"It was nothing. Thanks for coming Sam."

"Hey! You called me by my name! So I'm not just Blondie anymore."

She grinned. "Oh you are. Blondie's this jock that I have a couple of classes with at school. But I guess you're also dorky Sam to me too now."

"As long as you drop the 'dorky' prefix we'll be cool."

* * *

><p>And so it began.<p>

At school she was the sassy diva and he was the jock with an eye for the ladies. But in the Jones residence they could let their hair down. Sam quickly learned that Mercedes had a wicked giggle and a happy girl laugh which he hadn't seen since she was drunk at Rachel's party. And being around a girl without feeling the need to make her another notch on his bedpost meant that Sam was more relaxed and less aggressive than usual. They found they could talk for hours and laugh at nonsense. They introduced each other to different things. He now watched anime and she now flicked through his comics. Some weekends they even watched and argued over movies although the Avatar: Navi Edition was the only one they both sat through in full agreement. With Stacy only being a baby when he had to the boys schools meant that Sam had never really got to experience a platonic relationship with a female and he was really enjoying it. He came to see that sassy Mercedes was generally a defensive one. When she was relaxed it tended to come out more as humor and banter. Sure he still had a roving eye, but that had nothing to do with Mercedes. And it would never get in the way with his time spent with her. Their time was something that he was happy to prioritize.

Prom was a whole new revelation. He'd felt bad for Mercedes not having a date but had made a point of going without a date of his own so that he could scope out the talent. It had worked for him before and was bound to work for him again. What he hadn't counted on was seeing her sitting there all alone watching shyly as everyone danced. Finally he could put his finger on what it was about her. She was lonely. Even with Kurt now back, the two former besties weren't as close as they used to be. The second part of the revelation was even more startling. It suddenly hit him that he was lonely too. Without a girl on his arm he felt incomplete. The thrill of the chase was fun but the victory was hollow. The third part of the revelation was that she looked fucking _stunning!_ He'd always known she was cute, but for some reason he'd never quite put her in the same category as all the other girls that he chased. She was darker, heavier and had twice as much brains. But when she had walked into that hall, with the sea of fuchsia clinging to every curve, and the strapless bodice supporting cleavage that he could be lost in for days, his body had reacted before his mind and it freaked him out. He'd done his best to ignore it and go for his usual miniskirted types but his eyes kept being drawn back to her. By the time Rachel started her depressing song he' given up and simply stood near the wall, openly staring.

She looked so sad. Now her lonely was really starting to show. For some stupid reason nobody was asking her to dance. And then the final realization hit him. _He_ could. They were friends so she wouldn't slap him to high heaven if he did. Yet as he made his was over he was hit with a sudden attack of nerves. This never happened to the great Sam Evans. He was a lothario! A smooth talker. He knew every trick in the book and had tried most of them.

And yet now here he was, trying to speak to his friend, and his smoothness was gone. His game was gone. And for the first time ever he felt vulnerable.

"Mercedes. I… just wanted to tell you that you look beautiful. Would you like to dance?" He held out his hand, half expecting her to laugh in his face or say no. But she didn't. She took it. And he felt his heart soar.

After their time on the dance floor everything changed for Sam. He'd started the evening with the plan of taking home and getting lucky with some drunk pretty little thing who had fought with her boyfriend/best friend/parents but instead of a quick fumble in the bathrooms he'd ended up walking Mercedes home and hugging her at her front door. And yet he would not have had it any other way.

* * *

><p>The following week at school was difficult. Something subtle had changed and Mercedes had gone from invisible to sought after. It annoyed him no end. The worst offender was Marcus from the football team. He was one step worse than Anthony Rashad. He'd worked through most of the Cheerios and since prom had developed a craving for brown sugar. Sam glowered at the two of them standing talking by Mercedes locker. He went to his own one across the hall, watching their interaction and slamming his locker door just as the football player reached up to touch her cheek. Neither of them seemed to even notice the noise. A feeling coursed through his veins.<p>

It was a lot like jealousy.

He made his way over to them. "Let's head over to practice," he said to Marcus, totally ignoring the pissed off expression on Mercedes' face for his interrupting.

"Don't worry, I'll see you there Evans." Marcus didn't even turn his eyes away from Mercedes' cleavage as he dismissed him.

"Dude we'll be late if we don't go now!"

Marcus was also starting to show his annoyance now. "_Dude!_ Can't you see the lady and I are just getting to know each other a little better!"

Sam felt his hands clenching into fists and quickly shoved them hard into his pockets. "You've had all year to get to know her. Why today?"

"That's none of your fucking business!"

Sam stepped back. "Okay. I'm going." He turned his attention to Mercedes who was still glaring at him. "I'll see you after school."

"Sorry Blondie, I can't do today. I've got a date. We'll have to postpone to tomorrow instead." With that she spun on her heels and walked away. Both boys followed the swing of her hips until she rounded the corner before turning back to each other.

It hurt Sam that she'd reverted to calling him Blondie.

"What the hell was that?" Hissed Marcus.

"Nothing." Sam started walking, trying not to overthink his little outburst.

"That didn't look like nothing. It looked like you were marking your territory."

"No I wasn't!"

"Look. You've been hanging with the girl for weeks. If you were going to make a move you had plenty of opportunities. Now step back and give a brotha a chance with that fine piece of ass. I don't want to start hatin on you for this!"

Sam stepped back. He didn't like confrontation. Karofsky was the only confrontation he'd ever had and he didn't ever want to go through that again. "Whatever man. Let's just go." But inside he was seething. Both at Marcus for moving in on Mercedes. And at himself for being bothered by it. Sam Evans didn't do feelings. He did no strings sex. And yet suddenly, was he getting strings _without_ sex?

What the hell was this thing that was starting to happen with him and Mercedes?

Can't a guy and a girl ever just be friends?

That infernal question.

And more importantly, could a guy like _him_ be friends with a girl? After all, she wasn't what he would normally go for. Surely he shouldn't be bothered.

He prayed that this date would go badly. And that Mercedes didn't stay mad at him.

He needed to sort his head out!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Na'vi translation:<strong>_

_**Fì'u nìhawng nìtxan! = This is too much!**_

_**Txìng oe nì'awtu! = Leave me alone!**_

_**Kawkrr! = Never!**_


	2. First Kiss

"So where are you going on this date?" Sam asked as he and Marcus headed out of the gym towards the school exit. Practice had overrun and Bieste had been a literal beast in the way in which she'd driven the team for their afternoon session.

The other boy shrugged. "It's not a date. Just coffee at the Lima Bean."

"She called it a date in front of me. Are you sure you know what you're letting yourself in for?"

Marcus stopped walking and turned to her. "Evans, why are you _still_ going on about this? You must like her!"

"Nah. She's not even my type! I'm just getting dating tips from a pro. After all, we both know I've proved to be an epic fail with both Quinn and Santana!"

"Yeah. They were pretty harsh on you. All I can say is- Oh _shit!" _Marcus suddenly pulled him into an empty classroom.

"What the hell are you doing man!"

"It's Leah! I just saw her out in the hallway. You've _got_ to get rid of her for me. I can't face her since prom. I'll hang in here for ten minutes then I'll leave."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Scared of a girl are we?"

"Dude it's _Leah! _She's not just a girl, she's my psycho bitch ex!"

"The same psycho bitch ex that you suddenly took to prom and got your mack on with? We all told you that was playing with fire."

"My date dropped me at the last minute and I couldn't go to prom alone."

"I did! And it was fine. But taking Leah dude… You deserve all the shit she dishes out to you! You can't just hit it and quit it with that one!"

"Come on Sam, I'll owe you for this. It's bad enough that I'm already running late to meet Mercedes and you know how punctual she is. I'll never make it at all if Leah gets her hands on me."

Sam sighed, an evil idea forming in his head. "Ok. Just this once. But I won't forget that you owe me!"

He headed out and back down the hall. When he encountered Leah he told her that Marcus wasn't with him but he'd heard something about him possibly going to the Lima Bean...

* * *

><p>Sam had been sitting on her doorstep for twenty minutes before he saw Mercedes pull into the drive. As she slammed the door and locked her car her face registered eleven on the pissed off scale. He stood up as she walked towards him. He could tell that she had been crying and was trying her best to hide it.<p>

"I came to bring you this." He held out a Hershey bar to her. "The last thing I heard was that Leah was on her way to the Lima Bean to look for Marcus and that shit of thing can only end badly. So I thought you might need this more than me."

She looked hard at him before snatching the bar from his hand, ripping it open and biting into the chocolate, her eyes closing with pleasure as it began to melt on her tongue. Sam tried hard to ignore the fact that he found watching her doing that as sexy as hell. She unlocked the door and paused before entering. "So you gave me the chocolate. Why are you still here?"

"To find out why I've suddenly been relegated back to Blondie!"

He followed her as she stepped inside and she shut the door with a sigh before holding the chocolate bar out to him. "Bite?"

He initially shook his head then changed his mind, his hand brushing hers as he took the snack from her, hoping that he looked equally as sexy as she did as he took a small bite. She said nothing as she took the bar back so he headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"This isn't actually your house you know!" She had come up behind him with a watery smile and accepted the can of Dr Pepper that he held out to her. They were inside the Jones home now. The diva act was allowed to drop. Sam closed the fridge door and leaned on it. "So what happened at the Lima Bean?"

"Nothing. I got there ten minutes early, waited forty minutes and he was a no show. Then I saw his car pull up in the lot but before he could get out, Leah appeared from nowhere and got in the passenger door. I gave it another ten minutes but they both stayed in the car so I left." Her eyes cast downwards to the floor and he suspected that she may have started crying again. Crying girls were not his forte. Not unless they were crying from some sort of sexual pleasure. "So I guess I got stood up on my first ever date. I shouldn't have been surprised by it really. I'm invisible to guys. I always knew it." She fished a Kleenex out of her pocket and mopped at her eyes. "I should just be thankful that you were kind enough to give me my Cinderella moment at prom. My first dance. But that was only because you're my friend."

That statement annoyed him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what I just said. That I'm invisible to guys. I spend years watching the likes of Quinn have the likes of _you_ fluttering around them like moths around a flame while I just sit in the shadows unnoticed. Singing is the only time I get to shine and even then Rachel Berry does her best to take that away from me. Then all of a sudden one of the cutest and most popular guys at the school asks me for coffee and I start to think that maybe, just maybe, I might start to get more in life than one pity dance but... but instead I get stood up and blown off for his superbitch ex! And suddenly I remember that I'm just the fat ugly dorky girl with the loud clothes sitting at the back. Mostly I'm okay with that, especially when I had Kurt, but sometimes... Some days it just really really hurts!"

Sam was seeing a more vulnerable side to her than he had ever seen before, and although it stunned him, it didn't scare him as nearly as much as he expected it to. "Mercedes you're _none_ of those things! Okay so maybe you're dorky, but you're no more dorky than I am!"

"But that kind of thing is okay in a _guy_! In a girl it's all wrong. And that's why we get left on the sidelines. That's why we're still sitting at the table at prom pretending our corsage is the most interesting thing in the world while everyone else is dancing. That's why at seventeen we're still waiting for our first kiss!"

That line stopped him in his tracks. "Wait! You've never been kissed?"

She shook her head, embarassed. "Kurt and I tried to practice on each other once but obviously it was totally wrong and we couldn't even stop laughing long enough to hold our faces together!" She chuckled at the memory and Sam smiled along with her. That had to have been something to see! She flicked a stray strand of hair out of her eye. "I can't even get someone to teach me how to kiss let alone do it for real. Besides, who would want to kiss me anyway?"

Sam was so shocked at the question that he was speechless for a moment. She was gorgeous. Why would she think like that? "I would," he said quietly, but not so quietly that she didn't hear.

Her head snapped quickly around and her eyes met his. "_You_ would?"

"Yeah! You're cute and I definitely would."

"How?"

"Like this..." In one quick movement he reached across and grabbed her hand, pulling her flush against him, trying hard to ignore the soft warm feeling of her breasts pressing against his chest. With the other he gently stroked her face and stared into her eyes. "First I would smile at you, then I would tell you that you were beautiful, just like I did at prom." His eyes never left hers as she registered an expression of disbelief and bit her bottom lip but this time he chose to ignore it. "Then I would tell you to close your eyes." He moved his hand from her cheek to her eyelits to ensure that she did, hoping to ease her nerves before placing a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "Then I would plant a couple of sweet kisses here..." he kissed her right cheek, "here…" he kissed her left cheek, "here…" he brushed his lips against her jaw and felt her shudder and goosebumps start to rise on the backs of his arms before he took the final plunge.

"And finally _here_…"

He tilted his head to the side and kissed her very gently, quickly and softly on the lips. He kept his eyes open, enjoying the expression on her face as he moved in for a second kiss, not so gentle this time, but not too intense either and smirked to himself as he felt her arms start to snake their way around him. As she started to get the hang of it she began to kiss him back.

Time to take it to the next level. He locked his lips onto her bottom lip and gently ran his tongue across it. She broke away in surprise.

"What was _that?"_

He grinned at her shocked expression. "That was my signal for a French kiss."

"You were going to French kiss me?"

He shrugged and pulled her closer again. "I figured if I was going to be giving you a lesson on kissing I might as well do the job properly."

"Well… what do I have to do when you do that?"

"Just open your mouth slightly and let me in. Then you can just go with what feels right."

"OK I guess-"

She was interrupted by his lips back on hers. He wanted them back there. This was being one hell of a kissing lesson from him. Again swept his tongue against her lip and this time she opened slightly to receive him, almost giggling as the tips of their tongues flicked against each other before the kiss became deeper. Her moan of appreciation let him know that he was doing exactly the right thing and turned him on more than he could possibly imagine. Before long he was pulling her to the sofa, their lips still connected. Once there he could hold her properly and relax more into the kisses.

Finally she pulled away slightly. "So how am I doing?"

"Grade A student. Top of the class!"

"Well I have a good teacher!"

He kissed her again. "Are you ready for the next part of the lesson?"

Her eyes were wide. "There's more?"

"We're just at the beginning. There's more than just lip kisses." He moved his lips away from hers and down in a trail along her jaw and throat. She raised her head to allow him better access to the soft skin, her hands finding their way into his hair and driving him wilder than he could have possibly imagined and making him start to forget the task in hand. "There's more to kissing than just kisses," he said, his voice breathless, "You can suck and nibble and bite too." To demonstrate this sucked at and repeatedly kissed a small area on her collarbone. "Do it long enough and it leaves a mark to the world that you belong to somebody." He finally released the patch of skin, noticing the area was now significantly red underneath the brown and wishing he could be there to see Mercedes' reaction when she noticed her first hickey.

Sam had no idea at what point their lesson had turned out into a full on makeout session and how long they had been at it, but he was furious when he felt a vibration from Mercedes pocket and she broke off breathlessly to look at her phone.

"Oh shit!" She quickly pushed him away as she sat up and answered the phone. "Hi mom!"

Sam groaned silently and rested back against the seat.

"Yeah I'm fine... No I just had to run the stairs to get the phone because I'd left it down here… Oh yeah, that would be great… Okay, can I have uh, egg rolls and special chow mein?... Sure I'll set the table… See you soon!" She replaced the phone in her pocket and looked apologetically at Sam. "My mom's getting Chinese takeout. She'll be home in ten minutes." She stood and straightened her clothing, trying not to think of the fact that for the last goodness knows how long, Sam's hands had boldly gone where no man had gone before. "Oh my god Sam, your lips-"

He stood and met hers with another kiss. He knew his lips would be swollen from all the kisses and he waited the few seconds before she realized that hers were exactly the same. "Oh my god my mom will know something is up."

"We didn't do anything."

"For someone like me we did plenty Sam Evans!"

They were now at the door and he pulled her into one final hug.

"Thanks for my lesson Sam. I'm glad my first kiss was with you." She pulled him in tighter than he had planned and pressed against him until her breathing suddenly hitched when she felt more than just his abs. Yeah, _that's _why he wasn't going to hug too close. The side effect of their _lesson _would have to be dealt with when he got to the car.

"Tomorrow?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes not leaving his.

Without a word he turned and left not able to get to the safety of his car fast enough. Not even bothering with his seatbelt, with shaking hands he started the ignition and drove around the corner, stopping in the driveway of an abandoned building. Then it was a race to unbuckle his belt, unbutton his jeans and release his raging hard on.

With a sound halfway between a sigh and a groan he closed his eyes and leaned back against the headrest as his hand slowly travelled up and down the length of his cock before using some of his already leaking pre-cum as lubrication. All he could see were Mercedes swollen lips, all he could hear were her moans as he kissed her. All he could feel was the softness of her skin and her breasts through her sweater. All he could smell was the sweet vanilla and cinnamon of her fragrance.

As he ran his thumb over his swollen tip he imagined that it was her tongue touching him and thought that he was going to die. He imagined her leaning over him, his thick cock sliding in and out of her hot mouth, and the smacking noises her thick lips would make as she sucked at him and massaged his balls. And what if she was to deep throat him? His hand pumped harder as he imagined the way her soft hair would tickle as it grazed along his naked hips and how her heavy breasts would swing and sway as she bent over him.

His other hand desperately rooted around for a Kleenex as he felt the tightness of his impending release, not wanting to make a mess of his car or his clothes. Luckily he was just in time to catch the spurts that erupted from him with a curse.

"Oh fuuuuck!"

She was his friend. And all he had done today was help comfort her and teach her some basic life skills. Surely that was all this was. After being bitten twice by dating McKinley girls, the last thing he wanted was a relationship. So maybe this was good. A friend. With benefits.

But would Mercedes see it that way? He knew he would have to play this one carefully because the V card was involved. And they were the one type of girl that tended to get clingy. He wasn't after emotional involvement. He didn't _need_ emotional involvement. He just needed to be able to get off to something that wasn't internet porn.

But at the same time he did want to see Mercedes happy.

And he did want to knock Marcus' lights out for upsetting her, even though it was actually his own scheming that had ruined the date.

Had he done it out of jealousy? Had Marcus been correct about him trying to mark out his territory? Is that why he had marked her? Surely Mercedes was free to see who she liked without him being bothered by it. He had pursued girls while they were becoming friends and thought nothing of it. So why the sudden change?

Seriously... He had never had a true friend who was a girl before. Should it really be this hard to see where the boundaries should be?

Or was this the start of something more with Mercedes?

The questions had not been answered. They were only getting worse...


	3. Second Kiss

Sam had hardly caught a glimpse of Mercedes at school during the next two days. He was pissed off that he had to cancel coming round the next day as he'd promised and was now unexpectedly nervous as she opened her front door to him. All nerves quickly disappeared as he saw the expectant smile on her face and he pushed her up against the door as soon as she closed it behind him, brushing her lips with his own. He pushed to the back of his mind the thought that he had wanted to do that for the last two days.

"Hmmm… I see you've taken my lesson to heart."

She smiled against his lips. "It was a pretty hot lesson. Besides, I need the practice. Marcus apologized for missing his date with me and wants to hook up some other time."

Sam felt the definite stab of jealousy and pressed her further against the door, deepening the kiss aggressively before breaking it off and glaring at her. "So what did you say?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I told him maybe."

She wormed her way out from underneath him and attempted to get away but he reached for her wrist, causing her to spin back to face him. _Where the hell was the sad vulnerable girl from Wednesday?_

"You know you can drop the act now Cedes. We're not at school now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Since prom. You've been avoiding me at school and you never did explain the other day why you suddenly brought out the whole Blondie thing again."

"I called you Blondie because you were acting like a stupid jock again."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He could feel his voice rising but it was only matching hers.

"We were friends. Nothing more than friends. Then you start staring out any guy who even looks my way. You don't own me. And you don't want me as a girlfriend. So why are you trying to mess with my life? Marcus wants to get to know me and that's fine. I don't need you slamming your locker getting all stroppy about it."

"You noticed?"

"I- Look that's not important. You were behaving just like Puck. I owe Puck nothing and I owe you nothing. But you still think that you can interfere in my life! I called you Blondie because I didn't know you anymore. I've explained this before. Sam is this really sweet guy that I like to hang out with. Blondie is just this guy in a Letterman jacket that happens to be in my English class and in Glee club."

Sam felt a heaviness in his chest. "Is that what you really think of me?"

"You have no idea what I really think of you. You have no idea of how I really feel. You just do your best to mess with my head and maybe I'm just tired of that. Maybe I just want to take my chance and be with somebody popular who wants to be with me. And maybe it won't last. But at least I would have gained some relationship experience. And at least I would get to feel loved. Even if it is only if it is only briefly."

"Is that what you think I am? Just some stupid blond jock who messes with girls?"

"At first I did. Then I didn't. But now I do again. I don't see why it should bother you so much that I might be seeing Marcus. I'm not your play thing!"

Sam didn't understand where all of this was coming from all of a sudden. _Was it because he had kissed her?_ "Is it because I kissed you?"

"Partly…"

His question appeared to have taken the wind out of her sails. "Because you know I kissed you because I wanted to."

"No. You kissed me out of pity, like you danced with me at prom out of pity. And most of the time I would settle for that. But today I'm standing up for myself and saying no! This guy actually had the balls to ask me out. I think he actually deserves a chance."

"So because you can't get your head around the fact that maybe I might like you, you're still going to hook up with the biggest man-whore in the school!" If he wasn't so mad he would have found it funny describing Marcus as such when he knew for a fact that he was worse.

"You – you might like me?" Her voice had gone from near shouting to barely a whisper.

Sam knew that he was fucked. Somehow he had fallen into the whole soppy talking about emotions shit. He hadn't meant to say anything about the possibility of liking her out loud until he had resolved it in his own head first. But now it was out there he couldn't take it back. And what was worse, he really didn't mind too much that it was out there at all! He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. It was starting to get long and was constantly falling into his eyes annoying the hell out of him. He sighed and let go of her wrist.

"Let's just say, I like hanging out with you and I really enjoyed kissing you yesterday. This is all pretty new to me and the thought of a creep like Marcus getting his hands on you while I work through all of this in my head makes me feel pretty sick."

She simply stared at him, clearly taken aback by his little speech. And the rambling fool that he was, Sam felt the need to fill the silence with more words. Unless it was a sexual situation in which he was in control, he struggled. "You confuse me. At school you pull all this scary diva shit, but when you're here you're just this great gorgeous girl who I like spending time with. And then today you just went and brought the diva right in the front door and confused the hell out of me."

"Well you kissed me and confused the hell out of _me! _You walk round the school ignoring me like nothing has happened between us so I assume I'm still free to do my own thing. Then you cancel me by text despite it being you who wanted to come back the next day."

"Something came up-"

"And all I'm left with is a hickey and a shitload of questions!" She stared at him accusingly.

"I'm sorry I can't answer them all for you yet."

"So am I!"

"So what happens now? I wish we had a time machine and could just jump back five minutes to that magic moment against the door before we had this little disagreement. I'm just not ready to deal with it right now."

"Neither am I." Sam sighed. "How about I just go back outside and come back in and we have a do over?"

She looked up at him confused but he ignored her, turning and heading back out of the front door. He took a deep breath and paused for a couple of seconds before knocking. \there was an impossibly long silence. Then a grin passed his lips as he heard a quick "Who is it?" from behind the door before it was swung open by a stone faced Mercedes. He kicked the door shut with his foot before pressing her back up against it and kissing her again but she didn't resist.

"I'm getting a sense of déjà vu" she muttered against his lips. "Why do you keep doing this?"

"Well I don't know about you but I came here to give you the second part of your kissing lesson. But if you don't want it…" He turned and made as if he was about to leave again.

"Wait – there's _more_ to the kissing lesson?" Curiosity at got the better of her. As had his lips.

He nodded. "You passed the basic level yesterday with flying colors so now you've been fast tracked to the advanced class."

"Advanced class huh?"

"Yep." He glanced briefly at his watch before kicking off his shoes. "It starts upstairs in fifteen seconds. And I don't appreciate my students being tardy!"

She shot him a look of confusion before running up ahead of him, screaming that her room was a mess. He stepped back and allowed her to pass so that he could enjoy the view of her ass in her wraparound jersey dress as she flew up the stairs. Once in her room she paused, unsure what to do next. Her room wasn't that bad. He'd seen it much worse. But there were quite a few clothes strewn on the bed including a bra with cups so big he wondered if he could fit his head in one.

She blushed and started grabbing the clothes, shoving them quickly into her huge closet. He lay back on her bed like they were about to watch a movie and patted the space next to him. After eyeing him suspiciously for a couple of seconds she joined him, removing her jewelry at his request.

"I'm not sure about this Sam."

"Don't worry. I don't bite!"

Her hand subconsciously flew up to her collarbone where he had left the hickey and he grinned. "Well, when I say I don't bite a meant that I promise no more hickeys." His hand flew to her waist and pulled her closer. "Now I suggest we start this class with a recap from yesterday. I believe we did French kissing…" Sam knew he was on dangerous ground but Mercedes had the most kissable lips he had ever come across and simply could not keep away. Finally coming up for air he started to loosen the funky purple glitter neck scarf that she had worn to school that day, exposing more of her cleavage as well as the dark mark of the hickey he had left her. He kissed it gently by way of apology as she groaned "… before moving on to different types of kisses. And so now we begin the advanced class..."

She gasped at the feel of his lips on her throat. "N-no biting…"

"Ok. I already told you no biting. Maybe a bit of nibbling but I promise no marking." She noticeably relaxed more into his touch. "For today's lesson we will be working on the placement of kisses and the different reactions and sensations that can be created in different zones. But first I have a question. Are you ticklish?"

Her eyes were closed and he wasn't entirely sure if she had been listening or not but she did nod. "Okay, I'll try not to tickle you too much. But even if I do, remember that tickle can be good, and try not to hit out at me!" Yep. She had definitely stopped listening and he took it as a sign to start which he did by gently nibbling her right earlobe and pulling at it very slightly with his teeth. She turned her head away from him with a sigh to allow him to work his way up from the lobe and around the outer edge before placing small wet kisses behind her ear, right on the bone by her hairline.

By now her hands were roaming his firm chest and back and he pulled her even closer by the waist, his own hands starting to roam up towards her breasts. He had no idea how far she would let him go with this but he was sure as hell going to try, gingerly cupping one in each hand as he brought his kisses along to the front of her throat. She made no move to stop him as his mouth travelled slowly but surely down her breastbone.

He pushed her gently so that she was lying on her back before moving back up to her shoulders in case the movement had startled her. He moved the edge of her dress gently with his finger, kissing underneath it, before moving her bra strap slightly with his teeth and kissing the indentation that had been left behind by it. "Does this feel good?"

She nodded her agreement. "How about this?" He trailed kisses along the inside of her arm, putting extra attention on the inside of her elbow. She giggled. "That tickled!" Okay… not the response he had been hoping for. He knew it was an erogenous zone but maybe not on Mercedes. He worked his way back up to the shoulder, retracing his path before heading back down, this time around the curve of the exposed section of her breast which was now greater due to the fact that she was lying on her back.

He felt her take a ragged deep breath and her hands went into his hair. Now was the time to take her chance. His hands had been on her breasts for the past five minutes without complaint and now he moved to tug at the tie on her waist, his long deft fingers making short work of the bow there. This time when he kissed at the top of her breast, the dress gave a little, revealing the black lace of her bra. He cupped the whole breast in his hand, lifting it higher, revealing more flesh from under the lace which he set upon with his mouth while palming the other. Her back started to arch very slightly under his hands.

He moved his lips back up to hers then over to her ear. "Cedes you have the most beautiful breasts I've ever seen. Can I?" She bit her lip as if contemplating the answer and he took that as a yes, opening the top of the dress just wide enough to expose her bra fully. If the answer was going to be a 'no' she would have given it a long time ago.

"Oh my god they're perfect" he muttered as he placed kisses over the top of her bra, marking the outline of her dark areola through the lace and watching as the nipple got firmer without him even touching it. He nuzzled his face in the cleavage between her breasts before moving across and repeating the action with the other. The small moans coming from her mouth let him know she didn't mind. Which was good because he was currently thanking his lucky stars that her bra had a front clasp and he didn't even bother to ask for permission before opening the front hooks and clamping a nipple firmly in his mouth. The fact that her response was a moan and her hands and nails were now scraping his scalp gave him all the reassurance he needed to continue. He flicked at the nipple with his tongue making her squeal before gently nibbling and sucking once again. Then he moved up to the fleshier parts of her breasts, taking larger amounts into his mouth, kissing, sucking and releasing with a loud smack of his lips. Within minutes she was squirming against him and making the kind of noises that made him worry about how this was going to finish. He lifted each breast and trailed kisses on the soft underneath curves.

Then he slid his hands further underneath her dress to her soft belly and this time she did stop him.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm- I'm fat! You don't need to see that!"

He lifted his eyes to hers. "What have I already told you about calling yourself that?"

Mercedes avoided his eyes. "It's easy for you to say looking the way you do-"

She gasped as he totally opened the dress leaving her fully exposed in nothing but her lace thong. He circled his tongue around her belly button before saying "There's nothing here that isn't perfect to me."

She tried to close the dress but he pinned her arms to her sides. "Seriously Cedes. You're soft and womanly and you should never feel bad about the way you look. Guys dig chicks with curves!"

"But I have stretch marks and-"

"Hush woman!" He bent down towards her hip, tracing the outline of one of her stretch marks with his tongue before tracing soft kisses along the length of it before repeating with another one just below the top line of her thong. Then he returned to her belly, trailing ticklish kisses in a line across her waist and circling her belly button with his tongue once again. The sound of her giggles literally did warm his heart. He looked down at her spread open beneath him. Yes she was different to the other girls he had been with. But somehow she was _more. _She was woman. The Kryptonite to man. The bearer of future generations. The bringer of life.

He brought his face back up to hers and kissed her softly before whispering in her ear "You _are_ beautiful. You are perfect. And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise just send them to me and I will take them out for you!"

Finally she met his eyes. She must have seen the lust there because her voice became panicked "Sam I'm not ready to-"

He kissed her reassuringly. "I know. We're just doing kisses. The advanced class. Remember?"

She was going to hit back with a reply about the kind of kisses she had been expecting but he shut her down with another to her lips. Then he smiled down at her. "Stop distracting me. We need to get back to the syllabus!" With that he moved back down her body, between her legs until he reached her ankle. He planted a kiss on the bone on the inside of her ankle before continuing to trail up the inside of her leg from there.

"It tickles Sam!"

"It won't for long!" Once he reached the back of her knee he focused on the area for longer and she bent her legs, again complaining of being tickled. She kept wanting to close her legs and he had to initially fight to keep them open, but as he moved further up the inside of her thigh the complaints of ticklishness suddenly stopped and were replaced with sighs. He made his way up her leg slowly, holding the outside of her thighs to keep her still while he worked the delicate skin with kisses and licks and nips. By the time he reached near the top he could smell her arousal and see the telltale sheen on her panties.

He debated asking for her consent before deciding to just go for it. In one smooth move he pushed her legs open wide, shoved her thong to the side with his finger, opened the lips to her pussy and used his tongue to make one swift long lick along the length of her, looping her clit as he reached it.

She screamed and damn near kicked him in the head. He raised his head and grinned up at her.

"You better get control of your legs little lady or you'll miss out on the best kisses of all!"

Her response was to push his head back down onto her and he obliged with a repeat of the sweeping lick. Again she quivered and he placed one thigh over each shoulder and prayed that she wouldn't crush his head like a shelled nut in a nutcracker when she came.

He started by planting kisses on her clit. Then he circled it with his tongue, watching it grow and become more pronounced. Finally he flicked over it repeatedly with his tongue in the same way that he had with her nipples, and even though her thighs were partially covering his ears he still clearly heard the string of expletives that flowed from her mouth in response to it. Sam chuckled with his mouth still pressed against her, the vibrations sending her to an even higher state of pleasure. Then he moved down to the opening of her vagina, circling it with his tongue before cheekily making little dips inside with the tip. She was positively quivering underneath him, her back arching and her hips bucking. He used the opportunity to briefly cop a feel of her ass. It felt great and he was disappointed that he would have to wait for another occasion before he would be able to worship it in the way in which he felt it deserved.

Using his lips and tongue he continue to make shapes on an around her most sensitive areas, being extremely gentle when nibbling and slightly less gentle when sucking before resuming the darting of his tongue into her hole. As her cries grew louder he felt her whole body tense and stiffen and he worked his tongue even faster, pushing it in as far as it would go and making sure his mouth was in the right place when she finally gave her gift. To preempt things he quickly licked his thumb before using it to flick her clit a couple of times.

It was the final push she needed to send her crashing into her orgasm, her body arched and rigid, the sounds coming from her mouth loud and of no recognizable language.

He grinned up at her. "Cedes you're amazing." His voice was croaky.

But his own need had yet to be filled and he quickly ran to the bathroom on legs that he was convinced were going to buckle at any moment.

Yanking out his straining leaking cock it took just three strokes of his hand to make him come into a tissue. By the end, the sounds she had been making had had him scared that he would come in his jeans. He quickly washed his hands and stared at his face in the mirror. Again he had the telltale red swollen lips, which on him was a massive beacon for what he'd just been up to.

Catching sight of the bathroom clock he began to panic. _Oh shit! _He needed to get home ASAP! And without the car he was going to have to run all the way.

Back in her room Mercedes had sufficiently recovered to put on her clothes and looked like she was ready to talk.

"I'm so sorry Cedes but I really have to go." He looked at her apologetically and saw the anger rising in her eyes at his words. She could see that something had changed in him. The patience he had just been showing was all gone and he couldn't get out fast enough. He knew that she wanted an explanation for what had just happened but he wasn't going to be able to stick around to give it.

He looked under the bed and all over the floor for his shoes before remembering that they were downstairs near the front door.

She was still sat on the bed, her eyes following his every move. "What the fuck just happened Sam?"

At the doorway he paused. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for it to be like this!" He knew that this was the worst possible moment for him to be walking out on her.

He couldn't bear to see angry tears in her eyes and he turned and fled the room. Taking the stairs three at a time he quickly slipped on his sneakers. He had already opened the front door when he heard her from the top of the stairs.

"You're a coward Blondie! You use cheap tricks to get girls, which makes you even worse than Marcus. I can't believe I trusted you!"

Tears burned the back of Sam's eyes and he couldn't look back up at her. She had him all wrong but he couldn't explain it to her.

As he shut the door behind him and broke into a jog his heart felt heavier than lead. This was not how today was supposed to go. He had hurt Mercedes' feelings and he felt terrible. But there were things that were out of his control. Sure he'd fucked and left loads of girls in his time without any trace of guilt or remorse, but this time he cared what she thought of him. This time he cared how he had made her feel.

This time he cared. Period.


	4. Breaking Barriers

Sam had been waiting at her locker since just after the janitor had opened up the school and when it became abundantly clear that she was not going to show up there before class he was more than pissed. As soon as he had got in after leaving her the afternoon before, he had stuck his flat phone on charger and tried calling her. The first time it had rung three times before hitting voicemail. All times after that it had gone straight to the message.

Seven voicemails, fifteen texts and a long hour spent outside her house at midnight later he was starting to wonder why he was bothering. Somehow things had gone from fucking incredible to a huge hot mess. Ordinarily he wouldn't give a shit but this time he couldn't bear the thought of the girl being mad at him.

The second bell rang and he was forced to rush to class.

Lunchtime was the same. He headed straight to her locker and waited. She would have to come by eventually. And he would be waiting. They needed to talk about this. He had to explain. Well, at least explain as best as he could. He wanted to tell her what was going on, he really did, but something was holding him back. And it didn't help that he was still totally confused about his feelings. All night he had lain awake with the picture of her hurt expression foremost on his mind. He had put that there and he hated himself for it. He would give anything to be able to undo it. If anyone else had hurt her like that he would have beaten them to a pulp but here he was, the douchebag responsible for upsetting Mercedes Jones. And it felt like shit. He wanted to beat himself to a pulp.

Halfway through the break he decided to change his tactic. He knew that Mercedes would be watching her locker and avoiding it at all costs if she could see him there so she opted for a more clandestine tactic. Finding an empty classroom on the route to her next class he hid himself ready to pull her into the room as she passed. The plan would have worked perfectly as she did pass moments later, but she had unwittingly ruined things by being arm in arm with Tina. There was no way he would have been able to pull her in alone.

After school he did manage to be successful. She was inside the room and the door was already shut and he was already blocking the exit before she was able to formulate a protest. She shot him a look dark with anger and it gave him an unfamiliar unpleasant sinking feeling in his chest.

"Get your hands off me!" She hissed.

He hadn't realized that he was still holding her wrist and quickly let it drop but made no move away from the door.

"Now let me out Sam!"

He shook his head. "We need to talk. And your phone's been off."

"You couldn't wait to get away fast enough yesterday. I think it's a bit late for talk now."

"Please Cedes!"

"Nothing you can say can make up for running off like that. Blowing up my phone with messages doesn't mean a thing. You can't just get a girl going and drop her like that. It's _all kinds of _hell to the no!"

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to just rush off like that. It's just-"

"It's just _what_? I totally let go with someone for the first time in my life and you make a mad dash to the bathroom and leave! Way to make a girl feel cheap Sam Evans!" If it was physically possible, she seemed to be getting even more angry as she spoke.

"I had to go!"

"I'm sure you did. You couldn't get out fast enough!"

"I was supposed to pick up my little brother and sister and I forgot that I didn't have the car."

She stopped still and looked at him hard.

Sam stared at the floor. "You kind of made me lose track of time…" he ran his hands through his hair nervously "And my car is... in the shop."

Despite herself her expression softened very slightly. "You had to pick up your brother and sister?"

He nodded. "When I'm with you I get distracted. And my phone had died so my reminder didn't go off. But my parents were counting on me yesterday and I couldn't let them down or leave the kids unsafe."

"You could have asked me for a lift."

"I didn't think your legs would have been able to hold you up at that point!"

The faintest hint of a smile played on the edges of her mouth but she refused to give in. And before long it was gone. "I went from feeling incredible to feeling like crap within seconds Sam! I thought I had done something wrong!"

"You didn't do anything wrong. It was amazing!"

"You could barely look at me afterwards. I felt so cheap."

He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. "I promise that's not how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be making you feel beautiful."

"But I thought I had done something wrong. That I disgusted you."

Sam felt an overwhelming sense of shame and a pain in his chest. He had no idea that he had made her feel that way. "You do couldn't be further from the truth. I'm so sorry that I made you feel like that Mercedes. I truly am. I wanted to make you feel incredible. I wanted you to feel as wonderful as I see you. And I blew it. And I will always feel awful for that. I had no idea you would take it that way. I just thought you were mad at me for leaving so fast."

"So you weren't using me?"

He shook his head. "No. And it hurts that you thought I would. But i understand now that you have explained why. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt my friends."

Mercedes sighed and leaned against the wall next to him and in that moment he saw that by saying that he had just hurt her. All this emotional shit was a minefield and he was hitting one with every step that he took.

"So despite what happened yesterday we're still at _friends _are we?"

"Well…"

The annoyance was back yet again and Sam was struggling to keep up. "Finn is my friend but I would never let him go down on me like that. I only let you because you said you liked me."

_Might like you. _For once in his life Sam caught the words before they came out of his mouth and saved himself a world of trouble. Caught the _lie_ before it came out of his mouth and saved himself a world of trouble. Because it was a lie. _Wasn't it?_

Mercedes was silent and looking at him expectantly for a response. And he had no idea what to say in reply. Seconds passed and her expression changed to one of sadness. She pushed him aside and opened the door. "Look! We've already crossed the boundaries of the friend zone. If you're regretting it then that's fine. We'll never speak of yesterday again and we'll just be cool again. If you're not then you have to make up your mind. Marcus is still asking and I'm not going to wait for you." As she spoke he could see her hiding behind her diva face once more.

She pushed past him and started down the now deserted hallway.

Sam put his head in his hands and screamed internally for a moment before running and shouting after her down the hall. "I _do_ like you Mercedes! Please don't go with Marcus!"

She froze mid stride before turning to face him, wide eyed disbelief on her face. He jogged over to where she was and touched her face. "Why would you disbelieve what I say?"

She was biting her bottom lip. "Because you're you and I'm-" He broke her sentence with a searing kiss. "You're the one that I want Mercedes." He finished her sentence, not wanting to hear her say anything disparaging about herself. He also felt a sense of relief. It was true. She was the one that he wanted. She was beautiful and had a soft body that he just wanted to sink into, but she also kept him mentally stimulated, had things in common with him and actually accepted him when he was simply being his goofy self. He'd never had that with anyone before, girl or even guy. And he fully intended to kiss all her insecurities away. He brushed her lip with his tongue and she opened to receive him with a soft moan, her hands reaching up into his hair and teasing his scalp with her nails in the way that always drove him crazy. He cupped her ass and pulled her closer before coming up for air.

"We need to take this somewhere more comfortable."

She broke away panting, eyes already glazed. "Do you have to pick up the kids again?"

He shook his head. "Mom's home with them this afternoon. I'm in no rush."

"Then how about another tutoring session?"

He chuckled against her neck. "That's fine with me. No running this time I promise. But I'm going to have to ask you for a lift this time!"

"Did you really walk back to my place and stand outside my window for an hour last night?"

"Yep. I hoped maybe you would look out of your window and see me."

She nudged him with her shoulder as they headed to the car. "Sam, this isn't some movie, it's real life. But thankyou for trying. I'm sorry my phone was off and I really had no idea that you were there til I heard your messages this morning."

"It's okay. I guess it only proves to show that i do like you..."

* * *

><p>Sam would say that he was feeling pretty hot under the collar but his shirt was already off and Mercedes was kissing her way along each one of his abs like a pro. She was taking to this making out business like it was second nature to her. And this girl's kisses did something to him like no other. And he had made out with plenty of others. They were on her bed and things had gotten pretty intense pretty quickly. Sam had to keep reminding himself that he had to take things slow with this one. But somehow for once this was actually okay because he didn't want to screw things up again.<p>

There was, however, one pressingly urgent matter that was refusing to go away. And that was the explosive pressure within his jeans. The combination of Mercedes' kisses and the small moans that she made in the back of her throat when she gave them had him about ready to jizz in his jeans and he was having a really hard time trying not to grind it up against her and freak her out. With a reluctant groan he finally pushed her off him, his eyes fixed on the movement of her breasts in her purple bra, now that her shirt was also removed and he started to sit up.

"What's wrong Sam?"

"Nothing. This is great. I'll be back in a second!" He leaped up, facing away from her as soon as possible to hide the massive bulge in his jeans and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I- uh – I just remembered I have to make a quick call." He tried to make a break for it but was caught by her voice again.

"But your phone is on my dresser!" She sounded disappointed and a little hurt. He winced at having been caught out.

He blushed deeply and turned to face her, realizing that he would just have to be honest. "Actually I have a little _problem_ that I need to take care of before we can continue."

She initially looked confused until her eyes trailed down his body and understanding flooded her eyes. "Surely I can help take care of it for you?" she asked shyly.

Sam thought his legs were going to give way with excitement.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Just show me what to do."

He made his way back to the bed and she sat on the end, reaching forward to unbuckle his jeans. He reached inside his boxers and released the beast with an exhale of relief.

"Shit Sam!" In the moment he had forgotten that this was her first time seeing his cock and that he was above average in both length and girth. It was something he would always be proud of.

"Take off your pants."

Sam wondered how the hell _she_ was the one giving the commands right now but he was too desperate to question it. He stepped out of his jeans and boxers and smiled wickedly as her eyes greedily raked down his naked body before staring almost fearfully at his raging hard on.

"Can I touch it?"

He nodded and swore that it actually jerked as she gingerly stroked one side. The expression on her face changed from fear to wonder. "I never expected it to be so… thick! How the hell does it fit?"

"A little thing called magic honey!"

"What do you want me to use? My mouth or my hand?"

Seriously, this girl was beyond amazing. "Whatever you're more comfortable with. But both is really good. Why don't you use your mouth on the tip and your hands on the rest."

She immediately grabbed his cock around the base with one hand while sucking the tip in her mouth. Sam let out a strangled groan.

Her eyes widened and she immediately stopped. "Am I doing it right? Did I hurt you?"

He shook his head. Her mouth was like a hot vacum and it took him a second to regain his composure. "You're doing great. Don't stop!" He was already too far gone to start off with. This was not going to last long. "I just need you to move your hand up and down like this. He moved her hand and showed her what he meant and she copied immediately, returning her mouth to his tip as she stroked him firmly. Even without lubrication it still felt great. Just knowing it was her hands seemed to do the job and within a minute he knew his time was up.

"I'm gonna come! Have you got a Kleenex or something?"

He knew enough to understand that the whole jizzing on girls thing was purely a porn fantasy and that getting cum in a black girl's hair would earn you a fate worse than death.

Fortunately Mercedes sensed the urgency and handed him the nearest piece of fabric, her discarded shirt. She watched with fascination as just in time he used it to catch the repeated squirts of white fluid that erupted from him with a strangled cry. Finally spent he sat back down next to her.

"Was that-"

He pulled her into a kiss. "That was all you baby."

She sighed against his lips. "Now I understand the rush to the bathroom."

"Now it's only fair that I return the favor. Can I get you off?"

She nodded as he palmed her breast through the bra.

"Take off your jeans and lie back on the bed." He immediately felt better being back in control again and watched as she slid them down and stepped out of them, suddenly self-conscious of her body again. He reached over and took her hand reassuringly, bringing her towards the bed. "Whenever I say that you're beautiful make sure that you believe it!" Seeing the desire in his eyes seemed to have more of an effect than his words but her nervousness returned when she remembered that he was still naked.

"It's ok. We're done with me. I'm just going to make you feel good. Do you ever touch yourself?"

She nodded. Since she had first noticed the lump in his jeans which had appeared while they were watching the love scene in Avatar she had pretended it had been for her. She would recall it and fantasize. And since they had first kissed it had been every night before she went to sleep, even when she was mad at him. Hell, especially when she was mad at him. And again in the shower while her skin was wet and soapy and slippery.

"Show me how you do it."

She closed her eyes and moved them between her legs, opening herself and focusing on her clit. She used her index and middle fingers to rub the little nub in small tight circles, applying just the right amount of pressure before spreading out and widening the amount of area that she touched. Her mouth opened and her legs widened as she got more and more into her hand movements. Sam watched her face contort with pleasure as she started to move her hips rhythmically against her rubbing. He kissed and licked her neck and she groaned aloud.

"Tell me what you're thinking about" he whispered in her ear.

"You!"

"And what am I doing?"

"Bad things."

"What bad things?"

"Dirty kisses!"

He clamped his mouth to her already open on and assaulted her mouth with his tongue. It was a filthy lustful kiss and he felt her start stroking faster, her hips starting to buck. "What else am I doing?"

"Your hands…"

"What about my hands?"

"They're all over. They're playing."

"With what?"

"My breasts!"

He quickly grabbed a breast and pulled it out of its bra cup, rolling the nipple between his fingers before flicking his tongue over it. "What else an I doing with my hands?"

Her voice is breathless and sexy as hell. "They're down there!"

He licked his fingers and shoved her hand to the side and replacing it with his own, feeling her shudder as he continued the rhythm of stroking and teasing. He needn't have bothered licking his fingerd first because she was already dripping wet. "How does that feel baby?"

"S-so good…"

He was back to whispering in her ear. "Do you ever finger yourself?"

She shook her head, the power of speech starting to fail. Beads of sweat were forming on her brow and she was starting to look deranged. He quickly shoved one finger inside her and she made a sound like a frustrated kitten. Her walls instantly clamped around him and he moved it very slowly before kissing her neck and jaw. "I need you to relax baby. Do you trust me?"

She nodded and took a deep breath, loosening slightly around his finger and allowing him to start pumping. Her knees bent and her hips turned towards him to grant him access. Before long she was bucking up against his hand.

"Mmmmmm Sam… Harder…"

He inserted a second finger and curved them upwards looking for her spot. She bucked against him, making inhuman sounds with her mouth.

"More Sam! Harder!"

Who was he to deny her request? Pumping harder he felt her juices starting to flow onto his hand. She was going crazy underneath him, lifting her hips from the bed and fisting the bed clothes.

"Sam _please…_" She was begging and he didn't even know what the hell for. If he pumped any harder he would get cramp and he didn't want to hurt her. And if he added a third finger this early in the game...

The decision was made by Mercedes herself who had somehow thrown her leg over him and was now clawing at his back. She couldn't have given him any more encouragement than that in her current state. In one move he started rubbing her clit with his thumb while inserting a third finger and kissing and nibbling at her collarbone. She let out a strangled cry as he did it but her hips kept up their frantic bucking. She was taking the three fingers to the knuckle and would fuck him soon enough so she might as well start getting used to the stretch. "Oh S-Sam… _yes!_" Her movements became more and more irregular as she got closer to her release. "Just like _that_..." This girl was so horny he was struggling to keep her quiet!

"Aaaaaaarrrghhhhuuuuhhhh…" She clamped so hard around his hand as she came that for a moment he wondered if he would be able to get his fingers back out but he did his best to keep pumping until the last spasm had passed and she lay back, spent and relaxed.

"Shit Cedes! I'm _soo _sorry!" Sam looked down at his sticky hand, noticing the pink and red streaks on it. "I think I broke your-" He was interrupted by a giggle and brought his eyes back to her face.

"You got the dirty kisses wrong. I was hoping you'd go down on me again!"

"Fuck – I'm sorry-"

"But this was _sooo_ much better. Thank you Sam."

He was confused. "But I broke-"

"I guess it makes your monster cock a little less intimidating now that it's gone!"

He kissed her softly and rubbed her lower belly. He wanted to go and wash his hand but knew that he needed to stay with her while she came down from her high. He was not going to make the same mistake twice and ruin this. Whatever _this _hot mess actually was.

"Cedes. You need to take a shower."

"Huh?" She looked like she was falling asleep. "You need to go and take a shower. Or better still soak in the bath. You're going to be pretty sore and may even bleed a little bit. The hot water will help."

"It's okay, I-"

"Shhhh!" Sam's head snapped up. "Did you hear a noise?"

"No. Maybe it was just-" There was the clear sound of the front door slamming. Mercedes bolted upright and Sam leaped off the bed.

"Hey Cedes! Are you upstairs?" There was the sound of keys being dropped into the bowl next to the front door.

"Yes mom! I'm just going into the shower because I did some exercise."

"Alright. I'm fresh from the gym so I'll use the downstairs bathroom then we can fix some dinner."

"Okay!"

Sam was frantically pulling on his jeans and hunting for his shirt. Luckily for him, they were so caught up in passion when they got in that he had forgotten to leave his shoes at the front door. Otherwise it would have been game over. Mercedes dragged herself up and threw on a robe. "When the water starts running downstairs you have to leave."

After an anxious five minutes, the sound of running water came and the snuck their way down the stairs. At the door Sam pulled her into a final kiss and she literally had to push him out of the front door.

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow!"

As Sam walked down the street he smiled to himself. He liked a girl and she was a fucking freak!

Maybe he could definitely see himself getting used to this!


	5. Rumors

_**Thanks to everyone for the reviews, alerts and general totally awesome response to this! In this AU the Rumors episode happens AFTER prom. (Otherwise I would not have been able to make this a multi chapter.)**_

* * *

><p>Sam had blown it for real this time with Mercedes.<p>

As soon as he had stepped through the school's main entrance, a random cheerleader had flung some paper into his hand then rushed back into the huddled group of red and white clad giggling bimbos. It was a school newspaper called the Muckracker. He didn't even know they had a school newspaper at McKinley. Initial curiousity turned to a feeling of complete dread when he realized that _he_ was the top story.

After his mind blowing session with Mercedes, he'd been gutted to have to cancel seeing her the next day, but both his parents had secured interviews which meant that he had to watch the kids straight after school because Mrs Jensen next door was also going to be out. She'd looked bitterly disappointed but accepted his half baked explanation and promise to spend time together at the weekend. Quinn had come over with some dresses for Stacey and stayed to do her hair and play for a bit. Since the one time that they had fucked, the day she had shown up at his door gagging for it immediately after Finn had dumped her for the first time, their relationship had become like an uneasy truce, she refusing to ever let her emotional guard down again around him and he wanted nothing at all to do with her emotional baggage. That crazy shit was all Finn's problem now and the poorly co-ordinated giant was more than welcome to it.

He immediately balled the paper up in his hand, knowing he had to find Mercedes and do some damage limitation. But it was already too late. She was stood at his locker, eyes blazing, a copy of the paper in her quivering hand.

"Look Cedes, it's not how it-"

Her hand went up to stop him. "Save it Blondie!"

"But we _were_ babysitting!"

"I know. I get it! Babysitting, tutoring... it's all the same difference!"

"Merce-" Her name caught in his throat as he saw the diva briefly fall from her face, to be replaced by the expression of someone totally crushed.

"I was a fool to let myself believe that you would ever really want me." Her eyes turned glassy and her voice faltered.

He wanted to reach and touch her, to tell her it wasn't true and to reassure he that he did want her, but she took a step backwards, as if knowing that was what he wanted and refusing to allow it to happen. As quickly as it had disappeared, the diva returned.

There were lots more students starting to mill around and her voice lowered to a hiss. "This stupid cycle of you making me feel amazing then ripping out my heart _ends_ _right here, right now!_ Go fuck Quinn like a cheap _hoe_ in sleazy motel rooms like a pimp. I don't care! It's none of my business. I'm sure you'll end up having beautiful blond babies together!" She spun on her heel and sped away from him, knowing he wouldn't try to catch her in public. He stared after her, despite himself his eyes drawn to her ass in the black skinny jeans that she was wearing. Even angry she still made him hot. Scratch that, _especially_ when she was angry.

_Fuck it! _Sam slammed his locker shut and raked his hands through his annoying hair, not knowing how on earth he was going to fix this, and realizing things could only get worse fore they got better.

He wasn't stupid. He knew people were saying things behind his back. He had been having the shittiest week of his life since the school paper had resorted to publishing lies about him. Lies that Mercedes was struggling not to believe. And he couldn't blame her. To cancel going to her place after school only to be photographed the same afternoon at the motel with Quinn looked bad whatever angle you took it from. And it had thrown all her insecurities right back in the open. There was no way that she was going to let him in again. And it wasn't as if he could explain it to her anyway. She was the best thing in the clusterfuck he called a life at the moment and he was losing her yet again. It all sucked big time!

And to make matters worse, somehow, during the course of the week, Kurt had also been dragged into the fray. Sam felt terrible for that. The guy had been nothing short of brilliant to him and he didn't deserve to be dragged down into his mess. Especially as he was being so damn honorable about it.

* * *

><p>Now the week was ending and he was having to sit in Glee club feeling the tension. They were his worst accuser of all. The football team had been pretty proud of him. The atmosphere in the chior room could have been cut with a knife and he wasn't entirely sure why he had even bothered coming. He didn't care that the others were mad at him. He only cared that Mercedes had selected the available seat furthest away from him on the back row when she had arrived. Her expressions alternating between livid and tearful, the latest issue of Muckracker clutched accusingly in her hand as she had walked in.<p>

Rachel had opened the class by singing a pretty decent version of 'Go Your Own Way', except the whole time she'd been making eyes at Finn while he played the drums. Quinn was not impressed and he knew the queen bee wouldn't stand for it for long. As she started to rip in to Rachel he zoned out, thinking of more weightier matters, only to be brought back to attention by the mention of his own name.

Rachel was pointing a jabbing finger accusingly at Quinn. "You're a cheater who cheats at cheap motels with Sam!"

Quinn finally bit back. She sounded fed up. "Nothing is going on with Sam and I!"

Sam fixed his eyes on an speck of dust in the far distance and wished more than anything that there really was such thing as a cloak of invisibility.

Mr Schue raised his hands. "Okay, that's enough guys." His voice didn't even have any command to it. _Like that's going to stop this inquisition!_

"You know, I blame Sam for all of this," Santana was saying. Sam turned and glared at the firery Latina, trying to work out what the hell it was that he ever saw in her. Oh yeah, she was a great fuck. But a total bitch outside of the bedroom. Being in a class with his two exes was the worst idea in the world. But she wasn't finished. "Rachel too. _I blame her!_"

Rachel's face was a complete picture of shock and her mouth gaped open. "What did _I _do?"

Santana shook her head, doing her non-commital _I don't really give a shit _facial expression. "I'm sure you did something."

Lauren nodded. "See, I'm with Santana. I mean, why doesn't Sam have anything to say about all this?" _What the hell had he ever done to Lauren?_

"Guilt!" A voice from somewhere in the room. He was already too mad to be able to work out where. The last time he had gotten this mad in the choir room was when Santana eye fucked him during Trouty Mouth.

Puck was next to jump in then. "Seriously dude, what you're doing is _not cool_. They both have _boyfriends!_" Sam's hands balled into fists. Of all the people to say a line like that! Puck was throwing stones from the biggest fucking glass house in Lima! And he just couldn't take this shit anymore…

"Shut up!" He spun in his seat to address everyone. And by everyone he meant Mercedes who was staying silent and staring at her feet although he could tell she had stopped breathing and was listening avidly to every word that was being banded across the room. "Look, I'm not messing around with Quinn or Kurt or any one of those guys. They're just helping me!"

"Oh is that what we're calling it now?" Her eyes met his briefly before shrugging as if unconcerned and turning to listen to Mr. Schue. Sam felt as if she had stabbed him through the heart and felt the back of his eyes prick. How the hell was she managing to evoke such a reaction in him? And why the hell was it so important that she understand he was not fooling around?

"How were they helping you out?"

Sam took a moment to answer the question. He was still rendered speechless by Mercedes' flippant statement, knowing that to her it was nowhere near as flippant as she had made it sound. He sighed, pulling his thoughts back to the question in hand. There was no point hiding the truth anymore. "Kurt was bringing me some clothes and Quinn was helping me babysit my little brother and sister." He saw Mercedes glance back to Kurt for reassurance on that statement and Kurt looked back at her with an expression he couldn't make out.

Finn was the one to finally ask the question he had been dreading for weeks. "Then why were you in that motel?"

His head was suddenly pounding. "Because that's where I live now!" He could hear that his voice was not as strong and as sure as it could have been. Mercedes had been refusing to look at him but now her head snapped up and her eyes were wide. His next words were to her. "My dad lost his job a few months ago, then we lost our house, so now we live in that motel in one room."

The room fell silent. He could see Mercedes' mind working furiously, connecting all the dots. It was all too much for him. He stood from his chair and spun to face the rest of the glee club. "Are you all happy?" he asked bitterly. He could feel Mercedes look up but couldn't bear to meet her eye. "The truth's finally out!"

He couldn't stay in there with them one more second and stormed quickly out of the room.

Sam knew it was stupid, but part of him slowed down when he got out of the door, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Mercedes would come running out after him. A few seconds later, he realized how stupid he was being and picked up the pace again. Nobody was going to come after him. Why would they? He was just some dumb homeless jock with nothing to offer. After the dust settled they would all start looking down at him with pity. And that was probably even worse than the rumors of him cheating. He didn't want to be pittied with by anyone. That's why he hadn't told anyone. The Evans family didn't need pity and didn't need charity.

He retrieved his things from his locker and started to heading out of the school, his head bowed. He needed to take a walk and clear his head. That motel room was the most claustrophobic place on the planet.

Then there was Mercedes. It didn't matter that she now knew he hadn't been cheating. He had no money so he couldn't date her anyway. He would never be able to compete with the other guys who were interested. Marcus was a douchebag and he still fucking wins.

It was pointless liking a girl when there was nothing that could be done about it.

It hurt like hell.

And he was resolved never going to make that mistake again!


	6. First Time

"Your car's not really in the shop is it?"

Sam had no idea where she had come from, how long she had been standing there or how she had even found him in the empty recreation area a mile away from the school. But there she was, leaning against the pole from the swing, staring hard at him with an expression that he couldn't quite make out. His eyes had been shut for the longest time while he was lost in thought. Part of him was happy that she had come. That she had thought to come after him after all. He scraped his feet along the ground to stop his swing and looked up at her with a sigh. "How did you know I would be here?"

She shrugged. "You told me once."

He had? He didn't tell anyone that he loved to swing when he felt stressed. Something to do with spending so much time with Stevie and Stacey he guessed. Sometimes he forgot how much he had unwittingly opened up to Mercedes. _Damn the girl!_

"So the car?"

"We had to sell it. A quick sale for cash. Happened the day after we first kissed which is why I couldn't come round. We didn't get as much for it as we should have for it but it's secured us at the motel for a bit and got us some things that we really needed. It was stupid to be running two cars anyway."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She looked uncomfortable. "I didn't come here to accuse you. I came to eat some humble pie."

"I have to eat some too. I should have told you. You should never have had to find out like that."

"And I shouldn't have turned on you like that."

" I don't blame you for taking a shot. It did look bad. And everyone was already on a roll."

"But I should have known better Sam. I _am_ better than that. The stuff between me and you should have stayed between us. But I was feeling so betrayed."

"I know."

"Do you?" She looked at him with eyes full of tears that were threatening to fall. "Major things were happening in your life and you went to _your ex _and_ my friend?_ It's bad enough that you didn't feel to tell me. But to tell _them_ over me..." She shook her head but still refused to let the tears fall. She slid down the pole and sat sadly on the ground. He wanted to join her there but knew it would only push her away. So he remained on the swing, feeling helpless. He had no idea where this conversation was going. All he knew was that he just wanted to hold her. But that wasn't like him. None of this was like him. It was uncharted territory and it scared him. He didn't like the idea that he was falling into all this sensitive shit.

"I'm sorry. It just happened that way. Quinn found out because our families go to the same church and Kurt came across me working."

"But why couldn't you tell me? There might have been a way that we could have helped."

"We don't need help Cedes. We're managing on our own."

"Yeah. Selling your car is not managing Sam!"

"This is family business. Once it goes outside of family people start to look at you with pity and offer you charity. We don't want that. We just need to be left alone to get ourselves together and get back on our feet."

"So all those times you cancelled on me you _really were_ babysitting?"

He nodded. "Yeah. My parents take every random shift and interview they can get. The day I rushed off quickly, dad was out and my mom had an interview. She couldn't just leave the kids at the motel on their own so I needed to be back. And if I'd been late she would have missed the interview and missed out on both work and money. That's why I had to run like I did. It was about more than just me."

"I see that now."

"But I am sorry. That was such a shitty time to have left you. I didn't realize that things were going to happen the way that they did that afternoon."

"Let's just put it behind us now."

"Okay."

"Can I ask you something Sam?"

"Sure."

"Did we break up?"

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I. I don't really understand what our relationship was. You said you liked me. We were definitely more than friends but you never actually asked me out. Then this happened and we haven't spoken all week. Did we break up? Was there something to break up?"

Sam really didn't know the answer. It was something that had crossed his mind and he hadn't wanted to deal with the answer. "I don't know." He could at least be honest about it. But looking at her face he knew it was the wrong answer. Why do girls always need to put labels on everything? Why can't they just enjoy things at face value?

Mercedes stood and brushed herself down and he started to panic. The one thing he knew for sure is that he didn't want her to leave. "I didn't ask you out because I couldn't" he finally said.

She stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean couldn't."

"I have nothing Cedes. I can't take you out for a good time. Even though I like you I can't _date _you. That's why I got so mad about Marcus. He was wanting to take you out. To do things that I couldn't. And I was afraid you'd choose him over me because of it."

"You know you don't need money to date me."

"I'm starting to figure that out now."

"The most important things don't cost anything anyway."

Again with the soppy sensitive shit. But if this was what it took to keep the girl then he would do it. He'd come too far now. "In my head we may not have been dating but we were definitely testing the waters of a relationship."

That answer went down much better than the first. But she was still looking at him expectantly and he had to think very carefully about what to do next. Except thinking was taking too long and wasn't particularly helpful. He decided not to think and let the strange new feeling take over instead. He left the swing and took her hand, looking down into her beautiful face.

"It felt a lot like a breakup to me. And I didn't like that feeling one bit."

She looked back up at him with her big eyes. "I didn't either."

"I missed kissing you." He planted a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth and she sighed against his face.

"I missed kissing you too." She turned her head slightly so that her lips met his completely and for a moment he allowed himself to be lost. "So I take it we're not broken up anymore."

"Nope." She murmured and smiled against his lips.

He grabbed her hand again. "Let's walk!"

They walked a small loop around the deserted recreation area. It was the first time they had been together outside of her house and Sam hated to admit it, but it felt good. The feel of her small hand in his, their fingers interlaced together. What was this shit? Stacey's Disney princess cartoons were starting to have a damaging effect on his masculinity!

"How long do you reckon it will take us to screw this up all over again?" His reverie was interrupted by Mercedes' question.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the two have us have been two steps forward, one step back ever since we first kissed."

"I think I have to take responsibility for that. I promise not to try to fuck things up anymore."

She smiled. "We'll both try not to fuck things up."

Sam couldn't say things could get any fairer than that!

"Do you have to go back to the motel right now?"

He shook his head.

"Do you want to come round? Mom's made some of that fried chicken I know you love so much!"

He smiled his lopsided grin. It wasn't all he wanted to eat right now.

"Come on." She took his hand and walked him down to her car.

The short ride was quiet. Mercedes looked lost in her thoughts and he was too. Things with this girl were never straightforward and he wished that the were. She was right. They always seemed to take two steps forward and one step back. And generally it tended to always be his fault. He hoped that she would give him one more chance. He needed her to give him one more chance. Things just didn't feel right when there was bad feeling between them.

By the time they reached the front door Sam was tired of the emotional talking. As was becoming his habit he pushed her up against the door the second it closed and began kissing the breath out of her.

She wormed her way out from underneath him but he was having none of it. He caught her after two steps and pinned her up against the wall with his body while pinning her wrist against the wall with his hands. No amount of squirming would make him release her. Now he was back in his element.

"What are you doing?"

"Reminding you of the kisses that you missed out on this week!" Sam ravaged her mouth, jaw and throat, leaving her weak at the knees. "I guess your parents will be home soon."

"Nope. Mom has a dinner to attend with some investors and dad took his tux to work so he could take her straight there."

He raised one eyebrow. "So we get some uninterrupted time?"

She nodded with a grin. "And if you let go of me, we can go upstairs and make the most of it!"

Mercedes won that round. Sam immediately released her wrists and practically dragged her up the stairs.

* * *

><p>"Why were we wasting time being mad at each other this week when we could have been doing this?" she sighed.<p>

Sam didn't answer. His mouth was too full with a huge section of her right breast and she arched her back with pleasure as his tongue circled the nipple the nipple three times before flicking it three times and repeating the action over and over again in a painful tease. Their makeout session was progressing beyond the stage of making out and Sam wasn't sure if he would be able to rein himself in this time. His hand reached under her skirt and he groaned when his fingertips reached her soaked panties. This time it was her hips arching as he teased her clit through her panties and she lifted one knee to give him better access.

Suddenly she started to gently push him away.

"How long have you liked me Sam?" He couldn't believe that she had interrupted a hot makeout session to start a conversation.

"Hmmmmm?" He had moved back up her body and now finished the hickey that he was making on the exact location of the last one which had now faded.

"I asked you a question." She pushed him away slightly and he was thoroughly miffed.

"A while."

"How long is a while?" He leaned back and shrugged. I guess I first truly saw you at prom. Before then I thought you were a great person to hang out with. And I always thought you were hot since I saw you in the Rocky Horror outfit. Now that I think about it, on the Night of Neglect it felt like you were singing to me, even though I was sat next to Santana. But prom was the night that all the pieces fell together. I couldn't take my eyes off you all night and I was so happy that you let me walk you home, even if I didn't get to kiss you yet."

"Okay…" She looked away from him thoughtfully and it made him curious.

"What about you? When did you first start to like me?"

"I thought you cute the moment you walked into Glee club but Kurt and I also thought you were gay so I didn't really pay close attention."

"Wait! You thought I was _gay_?"

She laughed. "Shut up! I even had a crush on Kurt for ages. My gaydar is totally broken!" Then she stopped laughing. "But seriously, I first really started to like you when you took that punch for Kurt. It really meant a lot to me and I never really thanked you for it. But then you started going out with Quinn and I pushed all thoughts of anything to the back of my mind until they got reawakened when you kissed me."

"Not until then?"

"Okay so maybe I offered tutoring as an excuse to spend more time with you."

"Oh wow! Tutoring… Remember when we actually used to do school work together instead of this…" he brought his lips back on to hers and the conversation ended briefly.

"Sam?" He had just managed to maneuver his hands down to her gorgeous ass when she asked the question. "Do you think we should… you know… if you wanted.." He couldn't believe what she was asking.

"Do you want to?" _He prayed that the answer be yes..._

She nodded. "I want my first time to be with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely. But only if you have something. Coz I wasn't exactly planning this and I don't have any…"

He nodded. "I do." Sam was packing in more than one sense. He just hoped that she would be able to handle it. And there were always two spare condoms in his wallet. Because there was always the good chance that one would not be enough.

* * *

><p>"Are you definitely sure?" They were both naked on her bed and he had already brought her to the brink with his tongue, her wetness and taste driving him mad.<p>

She glared at him for stopping before realizing he was expecting an answer to his question. "I want this. For you. And for me. I want to help you feel better. And I want to feel _you." _She giggled shyly. "Plus i've not been able to stop thinking about your massive cock every time I touch myself!"

He grinned. "Don't worry. I won't put it all in. Besides, I've not been able to stop thinking about dirty kisses!"

After eating her out for several minutes, he used his fingers, pumping them slowly into her wetness to stretch her out, starting with one and finishing with three at which point she'd lost all coherent thought. He stopped his ministrations to question her one more time with his eyes. The wild look she shot back at him said that she was as ready as she was ever going to be.

Without breaking eye contact he parted her pussy lips with his fingers and started to push his way in, moving to continue massaging her clit at the same time. She was so wet... So tight... So hot... So-

"Shit Sam!" He looked down at her, stopping all movement. Her eyes were tightly shut and she was wincing. "Shit! Shit! SHIT!"

"Are you okay?"

She paused and then slowly released a ragged breath.

Finally she nodded. "More."

Sam was happy to oblige. She felt incredible. And it was taking all of his self restraint not to slam into her and envelope himself entirely. But he didn't want her first experience to be a bad one. He was hoping for many many more repeats. Again her breathing hitched with the movement. "Fuck Sam! Are you sure it'll fit? You're fucking huge!" He grinned at the complement and felt glad that they had already disposed of her barrier. Anything to make this easier. He withdrew a little then pushed in slightly further. He then repeated it withdrawing slightly more and pushing in slightly more. Her eyes were closed and tears were spilling from the corner of her eyes down the side of her face.

"How does that feel?"

"Mmmmmm..." She tightened her arms around his neck. He kissed her lips and repeated the movement, lengthening the stroke yet again and receiving a slightly louder moan. On the fourth stroke he was nearly all the way in and her hips were starting to respond to and anticipate his. He continued to move slowly, allowing her to adjust to the sensation until she started bucking and urging him faster and he didn't need any further urging to comply with her request. It was hard holding back when she felt so good but he bit his lip and did his best. There would be other opportunities to go all 'jack-rabbit' on her pussy and fuck her into the mattress. This wasn't the one.

The feeling of her tight walls clenching around his cock was nearly too much to bear and threatened to make him lose control, but he knew he had to keep it together. He knew that he had to hold on. He worked his hips back and forth, trying not to go too deep as promised and gradually failing. But by now she was getting into it, raising her knees and adjusting slightly to make his angle easier.

"Oh Sam... Yes!"

He grinned. He knew he was getting there. He continued pumping into her steadily, relishing her moans and grunts each time he pushed back in.

"Oh YES!"

He was in balls deep now, biting down on her neck to keep from making too much sound himself. This girl was fucking incredible. She was so wet and juicy that he was flying in and out of her. She was never going to need lube. One of her hands snaked around his back and other he grabbed in his, interlacing the fingers together. He kissed her cheek and licked the salty tears from the side of her face as her cries became louder and less coherent.

Despite himself he felt the familiar swell that meant he was coming. But he needed her to come with him. He reached down with his free hand to pinch her clit, sending her over the edge and she convulssed both externally and internally, her body unsure if it wanted to clamp him in or push him out, her mouth emitting a strangled inhuman cry, her hand tightly clenching his. He rode through the tightness for a few more strokes before spilling into his condom and finally withdrawing.

He fell back next to her, watching her as she lay, spent and exhausted, catching her breath. He finally let go of her hand to remove and tie off the condom before tossing it perfectly into the trash can that he had already scoped out earlier on the other side of the room. By the time she opened her eyes he was propped up on one arm smiling down on her. He still felt funny with the whole idea of touching after sex, but he felt strangely warm inside when she reached up to caress his face and stare into his eyes.

"So how was your first time?"

She didn't answer straight away but reached up to kiss him. "Thank you Sam. That felt amazing."

He felt a childish sense of pride and reached down to kiss her back, more deeply this time, pulling her in closer and moving his hand down to cop a feel of her ass. He couldn't wait to do her from behind. But he had the feeling she wouldn't be able to go two rounds today. Barely supressing a chuckle he whispered "And you thought it wasn't going to fit!" She pushed him away playfully before pulling him back to her lips.

"So do you still think i'm gay?"

She laughed. "Maybe you might be bi?"

He let out a mock growl and lurched for her. As he continued to kiss her he told himself this was not intimacy after sex. It was just making out.

"Is it always that noisy?" She looked at him, slightly embarassed. "You know - down _there_?"

"Sometimes." He grinned at her cheekily. "It's because you're so fucking wet for me!"

She squealed and pushed him away again. It was fun and playful but Sam was starting to get anxious. He didn't do the whole post sex staying in bed thing. Thankfully he was saved by his somach letting out an almighty rumble.

"Saam!" Mercedes laughed and prodded at his stomach playfully.

He looked back at her wide eyed. "What? It's just reminding you that you lured me here on the promise of fried chicken!"

"Well you would have had it if you hadn't, you know, _distracted_ me!"

As she started to get up his eyes followed her body lustily wishing she would have been up for seconds. Noticing his stare she quickly became self conscious of her nakedness and reached to cover her breasts and belly. "I love your body Mercedes."

She pulled her discarded bra and quickly shuffled into it. "That's easy for you to say. You're probably the only one."

"Don't worry. I'm sure i'll enjoy showing you just how much I appreciate it and maybe it'll start to change your mind."

He knew his smile was letcherous but he didn't care. Mercedes Jones was just going to have to get used to this.


	7. Summer Fling

**Your pussy tastes like vanilla yogurt. I can't wait to eat it later!**

Sam read over his text message one more time before hitting 'send'. Then he began counting. He was just reaching fifteen when he heard a cross between a snort, a cry and a laugh from the seat behind him, immediately followed by the sound of a phone crashing to the floor.

Mr Montague, their English teacher, immediately jerked his head up from the marking he was doing at his desk.

"Mercedes Jones. Bring your phone and leave it here. Don't make me put you in detention on the last day of school. None of us want to be here longer than we have to!"

Sam didn't move his head as heard the chair scrape behind him and his eyes lazily followed the curve of her ass as she walked to the front, desperately trying to switch off the phone before she reached the desk. _Oh it would be so great to fuck her on the desk! _After leaving it there, receiving the disappointed tut from their teacher, she returned to her seat. Sam letched openly at her tie-dyed multi purple shaded halter top which struggled to rein in her ample breasts. He'd have fun releasing those babies later. She refused to meet his eye as she walked the walk of shame back to her seat, focused only on reaching her desk. Sam sneakily hoped she was also thinking of things to do to him to make him beg for mercy for what he had done. He couldn't help it. He was in a playful mood.

School was ending and summer was starting. It should have been months of endless fun with his girlfriend - yes he was still struggling to come to terms with that label after Quinn - but his family situation had worsened and he had taken on a part time job at a pizzaria to help out. All this meant less time with Mercedes. And that did not sit well with him. He loved spending time with her. Sure, a huge heap of it was spent having phenomenal sex - the girl was the fastest and best learner he had ever come across - but they still enjoyed just hanging out like they did before. They even spent time babysitting together which was a massive help.

The kids loved her. It was her suggestion, after the class when his secret was revealed, to bring the kids with him to Glee. He was going to have to miss it due to babysitting after school but it was the perfect solution. Obviously it wasn't something he could do regularly but it gave the kids something different to do and they loved meeting his friends. And they had a great time together just having fun.

But today there were going be no kids. And today he planned on having himself some bootylicious fun...

* * *

><p>As he inched his way slowly up her body as she shuddered her third climax. His punishment had been simple. To make her come three times with his mouth alone. She was really going to have to think of some harder tasks if she was going to truly challenge him. Although he was sure she probably had more than three. He was a generous guy like that. Besides, they all seemed to run into each other by the end. But there was no sense in leaving her too tired to be able to fuck him afterwards.<p>

"Baby..."

"Hmmm..." She looked too exhausted to open her eyes but he still had something to prove.

"Open your mouth."

She didn't bother to argue back and he kissed her deeply, allowing her to taste what exactly it was that drove him so wild. "Can you taste it? Vanilla yoghurt." He reached down and dipped his fingers into her dripping core and coated her lips with it for her to lick off before assaulting her mouth again with his tongue.

She chuckled against his lips. "I don't know what your yoghurt tastes like down in Tennessee but-"

He stopped her mouth with another deep kiss. "Can you think of another alternative?"

"I don't know. I'll have to taste it agai- FUCK Sam!" He had spread her legs and entered her swiftly. "Give a girl some warning!"

"I thought i gave you plenty already" he moaned as they quickly settled into a rhythm. "Shit you just don't know what you do to me! We could do this all day every day and I still would't be able to get enough of you."

Of all the positions they had tried, Mercedes still loved it when he was on top. Something about feeling the weight of him on her and the ability to claw at his back. Plus she could reach to pull at his hair and dig her nails into his ass. Boring a position as it may have seemed, he didn't actually mind it either, enjoying the feel of sinking into her flesh and the softness of her breasts and thighs. But for him nothing beat doing her from behind. He quickened his pace as he thought about the feel of her ass against his hips and the sound of his balls slapping against her cheeks drove him off the pleasure scale. The way her ass quivered each time he hit is was a joy to behold and the way her walls clenched around him every time he slapped one of those cheeks- "SHIT!" He came hard. Luckily she had already come again. It never took her long when she was already sensitive but he hadn't thought that he would be so fast. This girl would be the death of him. Mercedes took everything he thought he knew about being with a girl and turned it on it's head.

She was becoming dangerously addictive in more ways than one.

Despite everything he was going to have his best summer ever with her.

* * *

><p>The following week they were having a strangely domestic moment in her kitchen, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Stevie and Stacey when she brought up the question he had been dreading. He'd managed to deflect it to far, distracting her with kisses and more. But now he was caught with no way to distract her.<p>

"So about this dating that's not dating thing that we're doing-"

Sam knew that she was looking at him but suddenly the jar of jelly had become really interesting.

"Sam? Are you listening to me?"

He dragged his eyes away from the jar and sighed as he turned to face her. He really didn't want to be having this conversation right now. They'd just spent the coolest morning with the kids and he didn't want to put a downer on it.

"Sure I am." But he turned back away from her and put more effort than was necessary into trying to scrape the dregs out of the bottom of the jar until her felt her hand over his and she took it away from him. He bent his head to kiss her but she shook her head, pushing him away and stepping back slightly.

"Not this time Sam. Every time you avoid the question it makes me feel more and more insecure." Her face looked so sad and his heart really did go out to her.

He reached out and pulled her back into his arms where he never failed to be surprised by how good she felt there. "Cedes, you're amazing, you're perfect and I am totally honored to be with you." He placed small kisses on the top of her head being careful not to mess her hair. "Being with you feels amazing and I don't want that to end. But I want to do this properly. I want to do _us _properly. My girl deserves more than just staying in and watching movies. I want to take my girl out and show her a good time. I want you on my arm at the movies and at Breadstix. I wanna make stupid holiday gestures to you." He moved his head to start trailing kisses down her cheek.

She looked up at him with her eyes wide. "Really?"

"Really. Look we're not stupid. We both know people gonna throw shit at us, but they're gonna throw even more shit if they think we're not in a proper dating relationship. I want to be able to say that I'm out with my girl and I'm proud. We have nothing to hide. They can all just take a flying fuck as far as I'm concerned. Our business is our business. And you, mizz Jones, are very much my business. And if it wasn't for the kids I'd be getting my business on with my girlfriend right now in this kitchen-" His lips locked onto hers and she let out a soft moan.

"Sammy?"

They pulled apart and resumed their original positions just in time to see Stacy walk in clutching her favorite bear by its left ear. "What's for lunch Sammy? I'm hungry and so is bear!"

He smiled and scooped her up in his arms, sitting her down on the counter so that she could see the huge pile of sandwiches they had made. Mercedes had done several types but Sam knew Stacey would only actually eat the peanut butter and jelly. "Lunch is about to be served! How about you help me by taking these plates through." He paced them in her hands and smiled at her as she walked carefully back out of the kitchen before immediately turning back to his girl. "Are we good?"

She shrugged but on her face was a smile. He'd take that for now. "We'd better raincheck our kitchen _activity _for another time. You'll never see this counter the same way again by the time I've finished with you!" He didn't have to turn his head to see what kind of expression was on her face. He simply grabbed the plate of sandwiches and headed off behind Stacy before he lost control. Mercedes always had him going from zero to full throttle faster than a sports car!

But hot and bothered wasn't going to go away this particular afternoon. Mercedes kept licking her lips and making eyes at him after every bite of her sandwich and smirked obscenely when he'd had to put a cushion over his lap. There were kids in the room for fuck sake! Luckily he couldn't touch her. All four of them were on the couch and the kids were being all cockblocky sitting in the middle of them.

Stevie's head was back and he was emitting small snores in his post lunch snooze. Stacey had her head on Mercedes' lap, thumb in mouth, eyes drooping in front of the screen while his girl played with her hair. It was in _his_ hair that her hands to be. And not just playing but looping and tugging.

**That should be my hair in your fingers!**

He watched her fish out her phone from her pocket, read the message, smile, then start typing without looking at him.

**Why? She's much cuter!**

He let out a sound of mock horror.

**That's not what you were saying the last time you were on this couch! ;)**

She was biting her lip now.

**I don't think I had the ability to form words last time we were on this couch… ;p**

His jeans were getting seriously uncomfortable.

**You were too busy demonstrating other abilities o.O**

He could see her blush even from a distance.

**I thought we were going to break the sofa!**

**I nearly broke my back!**

**It's a good job leather can be wiped down afterwards!**

He took a chance.

**Juicy bitch!**

Finally she moved her head and shot him a look that went straight to his cock.

**You have no idea how wet I am. If it wasn't for the kids I'd slip 2 fingers… O.o**

**My cock is about to unzip these jeans…**

**Is Stacey asleep? I can't see her face without moving **

**Drifting. Give it 5 and meet me upstairs ;)**

**And why would I want to do that?**

**I've got a friend I want to introduce you to ;) ;)**

**Will I like him?**

**You'll love him. He's desperate to meet you**

**Tell me about him**

**He's a big guy. And thick. But that's a good thing not a bad thing :P**

Sam moved the cushion and stood, making sure she had a good view of the bulge in his jeans before heading up the stairs. His phone went before he had reached the top of the stairs.

**Is he gentle?**

**He can be. But today he's feeling rough.**

He could only begin to imagine what torture she was going through downstairs.

**Sounds like someone I really want to meet!**

**That's what I thought**

**Make sure you're naked**

**Already am**

**I need you inside me**

**I'll fuck your brains out**

**Make me scream!**

**We'll have to be quiet**

"I'll do my best!" She was already there at the door looking all hot and bothered as she locked it behind her.

By the time she had made her way over, the phone had slipped out of his fingers and he had rolled on the condom. She leaped on top of him and had him pinned to the bed, ravaging his mouth and tongue. But was not how it was going to roll today. Using brute force, he rolled them over and had her pinned on her back, wasting no time by bunching her dress around her waist and shoving her panties to the side as he began thrusting into her. She hadn't been lying about being wet, she was practically overflowing already.

If this was only going to be a quickie, he would have to put his all into it. He suddenly pulled out, ignoring her whine of frustration and pulled her harshly towards the edge of the bed by her ankles. Her dress bunched even higher around her and he put one of his legs on the ground and bent it slightly in order to get greater leverage.

He looked into her eyes. "Promise you won't scream?" She nodded but he didn't believe her. He placed one of her legs over his shoulder and put one of his hands flat on the bed next to her head for balance. The other arm he used to hold her legs wide open while deciding to clamp that hand over her mouth anyway before thrusting back into her as hard as he could.

_Good call! _She was screaming into his hand. He bit down on her covers to keep himself quiet. If they woke the kids up with their noise all kinds of shit would hit the fan. And the sound of their bodies fucking so hard was already loud enough. She was clawing wildly at him, making it hard to keep his hand over her mouth. He could feel sweat starting to pour down his back but he continued to pound into her relentlessly, aggressively, deeply satisfyingly. The rhythmic squeals and grunts muffled by his hand let him know he was hitting all the right spots. They would only be able to go one round today and he was going to leave Mercedes feeling that she had been well and truly fucked.

She came first, her body stiffening and arching, clamping and damn near pushing him out if he wasn't pumping so hard. She was still coming when his own release hit, equally as violently but he kept pumping through that too. It was as if his hips needed to grind to a halt rather than stop suddenly.

Finally he collapsed back on top of her and rolled them onto their sides so that they could catch their breath. Mercedes was still so far gone that she was quivering. He watched her in amused silence as she came down from her high.

"Wow!" Was her first word.

"Yeah!"

"Sam I don't think I'll be able to even close my legs for a bit!"

He laughed and tickled the tip of her nose. "I don't think I can stand yet either."

She groaned and put her hands over her face. "We are such bad babysitters. What if the kids woke up? What if they heard?"

He linked her hand in his and smiled. "Firstly, those kids sleep like the dead. Secondly, we live in a motel with thin walls. I suspect there's nothing they haven't heard by now. Especially with a pimp next door. And thirdly, I don't regret a second of what we just did. I just wish I didn't have to go to work so that I could love on you properly. You deserve much more than quickies while we babysit Mercedes. One day I'm going to take you somewhere romantic. We're going to make it special."

And he honestly meant it.

And that was the point that Sam knew he had grown a fucking vagina over this girl.


	8. Don't Mean A Thing

Sam didn't count lying on the bed watching a movie with Mercedes in his arms as cuddling. It was just his way of copping a feel whenever he wanted.

Honestly. That's all it was.

It had been a couple of weeks since their irresponsible babysitting session. Sam had come downstairs to an awake Stacy in the kitchen, attempting to make herself another sandwich. Poor Mercedes had needed a little more time to recover. Their sex sessions just kept getting better and better.

The way her body rippled and quivered as he slammed into it was a thing of true beauty. Even while he was fucking her he couldn't seem to get enough. It was like his body wanted to be joined with her always. It knew her, every moan, hiss and cry held meaning to him now, each pant and giggle and groan was a secret language to him. The sounds of their frantic wet kisses and bodies slapping together was like music to his ears and he was constantly ready for an encore.

He knew her body now. He had it all mapped out. From the pillows of her lips to the pillows of her breasts, the pillow of her belly to the pillows of her ass. All soft and yet all different types of softness. Her hot mouth that drew him deep into kisses. The same hot mouth that drew his thick cock to ecstasy. The way that she would deep throat him without breaking eye contact. The painful yet pleasurable vacuum that she could create with her mouth, while massaging his balls and making him lose the power of speech and coherent thought. The way that she would hold her heavy breasts together while he pumped his swollen cock between them, head tilted so that she could lick and tease its head whenever it poked through.

The way she tasted. The cream that made her wet tasted fractionally different to when she came. Not very different, but slightly different. He hadn't even noticed at first. But now that he knew her he did. Now that he _knew _her.

And when she cries his name in the heat of the moment, he does his best to ignore the way it makes his heart beat out of his chest.

But today they hadn't even had sex. She was just finishing her period and still feeling a little grouchy but he really didn't mind. Just being together was enough. And watching The Green Lantern helped. Even now that the film had ended they were still unmoved, comfortably spooning on the bed, hands linked together, just talking.

They did a lot of that. Sam had never been one for just talking, but whenever he was with Mercedes words just seemed to fly out of his mouth. They would spend hours doing it, sitting on the couch, relaxing in her yard, even while cooking together. He told her all about his life, how he struggled with his situation, how he had initially been so angry at the whole world when they first moved into the motel and how he had had to adjust and get used to things. He told her about his old life in Tennessee, grandparents, his school, and even about a couple of the girls that he had been with. They talked about movies, about his dyslexia, his love of sport and love of country music. It hadn't taken him long to let Mercedes Jones in, and sometimes, when the motel room was dark and he was the only one lying awake with his thoughts, it scared him. But not enough for him not to want to be with her some more.

When he wasn't with her he ached. It was a new feeling. And it wasn't a good one. He didn't like to dwell too hard on why it might be happening. Why the fuck was it that suddenly, the last thing he wanted to do at night was to text her goodnight, or good morning when he woke up? Why whenever he saw a girl with a hot ass walking down the street, he would compare it to Mercedes' and hers would always win? Why whenever said hot assed girl walked out of sight he would calmly continue with whatever he had been doing, instead of lusting after her and plotting scenarios in which to make her panties drop?

He traced his fingers along her belly, tickling her slightly and she giggled.

Sam felt the buzzing vibration of Mercedes' phone. She sat up and leaned over to where it lay just out of reach on the bed. The expression of surprise was evident on her face as she read the short message.

Sam also sat up. "Anything interesting?" He was curious to know who could be sending a message to evoke such a response from his girl.

"Er… yeah. It's a party invite. From Marcus."

"Marcus! Why the hell is _he _texting _you?_" Sam fought and lost against the feeling that was falling heavily on his chest. He didn't trust the guy as far as he could see him.

She shrugged. "I don't know. He doesn't normally. But he says that the football team is having a party and do I want to come! It's weird. I never get invited to stuff like this." She looked over at Sam. "Are you going?"

"Of course! I'm on the team. But I don't think you should go."

One eyebrow immediately arched up and she stiffened very slightly. "Why not?"

"It's just that- I don't know... I still don't trust him around you."

She chuckled. "But I'm with you silly! I haven't seen or heard from Marcus since summer started. He's probably got some hot girlfriend by now anyway."

"Not as hot as mine!" he leaned over and kissed her softly.

"Hmmmm…" She returned the kiss a little harder. "Besides, I think it'll be cool to finally get the chance to get my grind on with you on the dance floor. When we go to this party we can-"

It was Sam's turn to stiffen. He was having a huge issue with the _we _part of her statement. "We can get our grind on right here Cedes!"

"True. But I haven't been to a proper party for ages! I want you to see me all dressed up and I want to dance with you again. We haven't danced since prom, and believe me, when I say dancing, I ain't talking about the robot this time!"

Sam smiled but the bad feeling in his chest was not going away. It would be the coolest thing to take Mercedes to this party but he was worried about how seriously they would take her and him. And he wasn't sure how ready he was to deal with it all yet.

"Sam? Are you okay? You're frowning." Mercedes was looking at him, concerned and he realized that he must have drifted off for a moment. "I thought that the prom robot was a good memory!"

"It is!" He shifted his position uncomfortably on the bed. "It's just that I'm not sure we should-"

The eyebrow raised for a second time and Sam knew that trouble was brewing for him. In fact, forget trouble, he was well and truly fucked. "Are you saying that you don't want to go to this party together?" She was slowly and surely backing away from him as her expression hardened.

"Cedes, I thought we already talked about this!"

"We did. And I'm not asking you to parade me around like a prize horse. I just want to be able to dance with you at a party without feeling self-conscious."

"We can still have a couple of dances-"

She was mad now. "Is that all I am to you Sam? A couple of dances?"

"No! It's just-"

"It sounds like you're ashamed of me! I'm not asking for a big announcement. But it sounds like you don't even want to act like we're friends while we there!"

"That's not true!"

"Well that's how it feels to me. Sam, I love being with you, I really do, but I always have this feeling niggling at the back of my brain that you and I want different things from this relationship. Whenever I mention it you always kiss me and make me feel better but it never quite goes away. When it's just the two of us, things are perfect. Things are better than perfect. But only behind closed doors. I know you're waiting to for things to get better with your family first, but what if that takes longer than you expect? Where does that leave us? There's a big part of me that thinks if you don't tell anyone about us then you can leave me when you get tired of me and there won't be any fallout because I'm the only that will know there was ever anything going on with us in the first place!"

Sam's heaviness transferred from his chest to his stomach. He knew that Mercedes had her fears and her insecurities. And he knew that by keeping their relationship a secret, he was fuelling them to some degree. But he had insecurities of his own too. And he had downright confusion to deal with too.

With Mercedes things were different. He was outside of his comfort zone. He was in uncharted territory. And as much as it scared her, it scared him too. Just days before, she had asked him to stay so that he could meet her parents but he had lied and said he needed to rush off. The truth was that he was scared. Scared that they might not like him. Scared that they might learn the truth, the truth that he was not good enough for their daughter.

He knew that he just needed to grow up, man up, and deal with this shit properly, but it was far easier said than done. _Was it so selfish that he wanted things to be just as they are? Just for a little longer?_

"It's not that I don't want to be seen with you!"

"Really Sam?" The 'judging you' glare was out in full force. "Because you've clearly known about this party for a while - you're in the football team for heaven's sake! But you've not _once_ mentioned it to me. Not even in passing_. _Let alone invite me to go with you. Marcus has to be the one to do that!"

"It's always about Marcus! You know that guy only wants a piece of your ass!"

"Maybe so. But at least he's not ashamed to be seen with me. Not ashamed to be out with me. Not ashamed to invite me to his party, even tho I'm not a Cheerio or a football player!"

"I'm not ashamed of you Cedes!"

The expression on her face told him that she felt otherwise. He could see the shit winging its way to the fan and felt powerless to stop it's trajectory.

"I'm not asking for big grand dates, but it would be nice to go further outside than the back yard with you!"

"We go to the park!"

"Only with Stacy and Stevie in tow!"

"I'll take you out!"

"I shouldn't have to force you! Just once we've been out together. One romantic picnic by the lake where there's no risk of being spotted by anybody but the local wildlife."

"Cedes that's not fair!"

"No Sam! _This_ is not fair!" There were tears in her eyes now and he was feeling like the biggest douche on the planet. "You make me fall for you but you don't let me be with you. And all I want to do is be with you. I want to be with you so badly. Is that so wrong of me?"

He shook his head. He wanted to be with her too. It was just too scary to admit right now. He brushed away a stray tear that finally broke free and fell down her cheek but she quickly slapped his hand away.

Sam felt more pain in his chest than in his hand at that reaction. "Please don't be like this!"

"Like what? You get to act like a jealous bear with a sore head at the very mention of someone who I'm not even interested in, yet whenever I ask about our actual supposed relationship you get all cagey." She unfurled her legs and slowly climbed off the bed. Sam followed her with his eyes, unsure of where she was going with her speech until she continued. "Like it or not Sam, I _am_ going to this party. You _don't_ get to dictate to me what I can and cannot do in my life. I _am_ going to have my fun. And if I can't have it with you, then maybe I'll have it with someone else instead!"

_For fuck's sake! _It was Sam's turn to get to his feet. Something was very wrong here. And he needed to fix it. Quickly. But he didn't know how. He had a track record of falling at every hurdle with this relationship. "What do you mean _with someone else?" _he asked slowly.

She straightened her spine and looked defiant. "You are going to this party _alone. _That means, to every girl there that night, you're fair play. And they _will _be making a play for you and your hot self. That leaves me with two options. The first is to sit and pine while other girls try and put their hands on you. The second is to make myself look fine and grab myself a piece of the action. If Marcus wants a piece of my ass then maybe I should make him work for it on the dance floor. Or any other guy for that matter!"

The thought of that happening made Sam feel physically sick. "Other girls mean nothing to me Cedes."

"Then prove it!"

"I can't-"

"No Sam. It's not that you _can't _it's that you _won't. _And I'm getting sick and tired of the way that we keep stepping around each other without dealing with the real issues at hand. Am I being unreasonable? I feel like I'm yours, but you're not completely mine."

He felt his shoulders slump. He'd been here before. He was screwing it all up again and he knew it. "It's complicated Mercedes" was the best he could come up with. Even to his own ears those words sounded pathetic. That feeling of déjà vu was back. However hard he tried, he always seemed to be on a crash course to screwing things up.

_He could fix this! He had to! _"Mercedes?" He said her name softly, smiling as he watched her shudder at the way that he pronounced her name. "Why are we arguing like this? Why do we argue?" His voice was soft and he slowly ran a finger down her arm.

She shrugged sadly. "Because something's not right. This relationship does not feel completely honest. And if we can't be honest with each other and ourselves, then it can ever work."

"What do you mean we're not being honest? I've told you more about me than about anyone!"

"That's true Sam. Maybe you're being honest with me but not with yourself. Why are you even with me?"

"Because you're awesome! You're beautiful and you're fun and…"

"And what? Loads of girls are beautiful and awesome and fun. Why me?"

_Because I'm crazy about you? Because the thought of being crazy about you scares the living shit out of me? Because when I'm at home and think of you I see more than I've ever seen before? _"Because being with you makes me feel… nice!"

Pure and unrelenting fury flashed across Mercedes' face.

Sam wasn't an idiot. He knew that he had picked the worst possible word to describe a relationship with a girl, but try as he might, he couldn't think of a way to fix it. Not without admitting something he was not yet prepared to admit to himself.

"_Nice?_" She was livid. "I gave you the greatest gift I could give another person because I thought you felt something for me and the best you can come up with is _nice?"_

Sam swallowed. He could feel his world crumbling around him and felt powerless to stop it from happening. He was totally fucking this up and it felt like he was watching it happen around him in slow motion. Mercedes' voice went beyond anger to slow and calm. "Get out Sam!"

"Wait! You can't just-"

"I can and I am. LEAVE!"

"But we-"

"There is no _we. _There is no _us. _There is nothing Sam. If you can't tell me why you want to be with me then you'll never be able to tell others. You're _never_ going to do it Sam. And I can't be in a relationship like that."

"That's not fair-"

"Life's not fair. This relationship is not fair. It's not fair to me. So I'm ending it!" She pushed him towards the door.

Five minutes ago Sam had been content. And now he was losing the only girl he had ever fucking cared about. Tears were streaming down her face and it broke his heart to see them but he knew that she was determined. An angry Mercedes was best left to calm down in her own time. But it didn't stop him from trying one last time. "Can't we just-"

"No we _can't just_ anything. It's over Blondi-"

This time he spun back towards her, angry. "You know what Mercedes! I hate it when you call me that! It's offensive and hurtful and-"

"And maybe I _want_ to offend and hurt you coz that's what you've just done to me!"

It hurt. It really did. But he couldn't let her have the last word. He grabbed her by the wrist and leaned in close one final time, totally invading her personal space, his lips just so close to her ear that he could feel the heat radiating from her skin. "And we both know that I'm not a true blond!" He whispered. Sam took small pleasure in the fact that her breathing still hitched due to his proximity. But that was as good as he could expect to get right now. "See you at the party!"

With that, he released her and without a backwards glance turned to the house.

It was only when he was outside that he finally ran his fingers through his hair and quickly caught the wetness in his eye before it had a chance to fall.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thanks Emz. You know what for.<em>**

**_Party... smut... i'm looking forward to the next chapter!_**


	9. Party People

"…So in the end I went with the blue. Because the blue goes with my eyes. Don't you think the blue goes with my eyes Sam?"

Sam made a conscious effort to zone back into the voice of the Cheerio who was currently sitting on his lap. In all fairness, she did have pretty blue eyes which stood in contrast to her thick auburn hair. But he still couldn't even remember her name, let alone anything else about her. She was gesturing down to her dress, which was barely an inch longer than indecent.

The party was in full swing, yet Mercedes has still not arrived. Sam pretended that he hadn't been scanning the entrance for her every thirty seconds since his arrival. It had been a shitty week. He had checked his phone every five minutes for the duration of it, but the silence from Mercedes was deafening. Each time he relayed in his head how he had called being with her _nice _he wanted to scream and hit something. It was wrong. He was wrong. But he didn't want to be the first to admit it. Mercedes should never have thrown him out like that without letting him explain himself properly.

But this party wasn't the place for her. She was far too cute. Too sweet. Too innocent. Although the thought of how he had taken away a degree of that innocence caused a smile to pass his lips.

"Are you listening to me Sam?"

"Huh? What?" Melanie or Maria or Martina or whatever her name was, was talking to him. Again. She always seemed to be talking when all he wanted to do was think. Luckily it was so loud in the room that the most he got was the sight of her lips moving. "I said, do you want to dance?"

She had to practically shout in his ear due to the volume of the music.

"Sure. Why not." Sam really didn't feel like dancing, but the girl was practically bouncing on his lap (any other time, that wouldn't have been such a bad thing). Unfortunately today, rather than being hot, it was just plain annoying. He took her hand and led her to the makeshift dancefloor. Once there, she threw her arms around his neck and started to sway while pressed up close to him. It should have been sexy, but she was so skinny that there was very little for her to actually press up to him! He imagined Mercedes doing exactly the same moves and released a long ragged breath. That would be so _hot! _Her soft breasts would be squashed right up against him and the scent of her would fill his nose. Instead, he had this girl flicking her hair in his face. Sure she was pretty. She just wasn't Mercedes.

Sam looked longingly over to the drinks table. He'd been trying to grab a beer since he had arrived, but this girl had been in the way since the moment he had stepped through the door and he was getting thirstier by the second. He ran his hand down her narrow hips and attempted to get more into the dance. Turning his head yet again to the entrance, he caught the eyes of Marcus who santered over.

"Good to see you're having fun Evans! Hey Marie! I must say, all you ladies are looking mighty fine tonight!" _That was it! Her name's Marie!_

Marcus shot him a conspiratorial wink while Marie giggled at the complement and flicked her hair even harder, causing a strand to get caught in Sam's mouth. He was busy removing it when he heard Marcus' voice again. "Hot DAMN! Now _that_ is what I'm talking about!" His eyes glazed over and Sam followed the direction of his eyes to see what the guy was talking about. The regret was instant.

There she stood. And his jaw definitely dropped. Her eyes were smoky, her lips glossy and her complection flawless. Hair cascaded down the sides of her face and her back in soft waves and her bangs were clipped to the side with a red rose. The dress was simple but effective. Mercedes Jones had come to dance. She had admitted to him that she had not expected to dance at prom, which is why she had worn a strapless dress. Great for sitting at a table, but not the best for dancing when you're generously endowed. This dress was very different. It was silver and sparkled like a firework. The not too skinny shoulder straps widened out to cover her breasts and criscrossed her waist, leaving a plunging 'V' neckline to which Sam's eyes were not the only ones drawn to. From the fitted waist that scrunched in at one side, the skirt of the dress fell more losely, skimming over her hips and ass, landing a high enough to show a tantalizing amount of thigh, without looking slutty. But the highlight of the outfit were the matching strappy silver 'fuck me' pumps that were so high they appeared to make her legs go on forever. His mouth got even dryer as his brain chose that very moment to play him a particularly vivid fantasy image of those heels pointing skywards while he pumped hard into her wetness, the sound of their colliding flesh drowned out by her screaming his name...

_Shit Sam, get a grip!_

But things didn't get any easier. Mercedes was definitely 'shaking her thang' on the dance floor. It was as if she was one with the beat and the music. What she had said to him earlier in the week was definitely true. Her dancing at prom was nothing like her dancing here. She was popping, locking and dropping all over the place. And whenever she shimmied and shook that ass... If Beyonce had been in the room she would have had to sit out a few dances so that she could watch and learn. The sexy silver dress gave her the confidence to dance with her arms raised, her booty bouncing, swaying and shaking with a rhythm and mind of its own, her breasts doing the same to their own beat. The eyes of every male in the room following them lustfully.

Tina Chang-Cohen was the object of many hate filled eyes. Hers was the body pressed closest to Mercedes on the dance floor. The way they two of them moved, pressed closely together was the stuff that would serve as fodder for many a fantasy in the future. Sam cast his eyes around the room in search of Mike to see if he knew what his girlfriend was doing. He caught sight of him standing behind the drinks table, mouth open, eyes glazed, crotch and hands suspiciously out of view.

Something smooth and sexy by Ussher started playing and Sam could have sworn there was an audible groan that went through the room as Mercedes dropped it down low then brought it back up slow. The skirt of her dress was loose yet he swore he could still see the definition of her ass cheeks through it as she moved. Or at least he liked to think that he could.

Finally it all got too much for Mike and he headed to the dance floor to cut in and drag Tina away, undoubtedly to find the nearest hard surface to fuck her brains out against. Santana was hot on his tail, squashing up close to Mercedes and shamelessly grabbing her ass. Everyone knew that Santana was handsy, but right now, her hands were the envy of every guy in the room. As if she knew what they were all thinking, she spun around and pressed herself into Mercedes' back, her hips now grinding into that magnificent ass. All eyes watched as her hands roamed and 'accidentally' brushed against those luscious breasts. Both girls broke out in a fit of giggles as Mercedes flicked her hand aside and shot her a look that said she'd gone too far and Sam had to bite down on his lip to prevent himself from making involuntary noises.

* * *

><p>Finally his attention was drawn the fact that Marie was trying to say something to him.<p>

"_What?_" he shouted down at her, trying to make himself heard over the music.

"I said… I feel sorry for her. I can't believe that fat ass used to be a Cheerio. I would die if I was getting that many pitying looks from everyone!"

Sam looked down at her, stunned. Maybe some of the girls were shooting her looks of mistaken pity. But the looks from the guys were something else altogether.

"Actually, I happen to think she looks pretty hot!"

Marie frowned up at him. "Why? Just because she's got big boobies? Any fool with a couple of grand can get those and still not have to shift all that excess belly weight around!"

Sam clenched he jaw and subconsciously backed away slightly. "I can't believe you're just dissing her like that!"

"Like what?" She flashed her blue eyes at him flirtatiously. "The whole outfit's not that bad. I for one, would kill for those shoes, but _nothing_ is worth getting fat for!"

"Some men like curves!" _Like me for instance!_

"Oh please. Guys just say that so get into the big panties behind closed doors. You would never actually be seen out with _that_ on your arm, would you?"

Sam stepped back away from her, the words stinging in his ears. It was exactly the kind of opinion that Mercedes had feared. The kind that he had never truly taken seriously until now. Mercedes had needed to be reassured and he hadn't done it. It was one thing hearing it coming from her as a hypothetical, and quite another to be faced with it from exactly the kind of girl who was her antithesis.

He couldn't look her in the eye right now without feeling violent. "I need to get a drink."

"Oooh babe! Get me some punch while you're over there!"

Sam mumbled a response that he knew she would never hear and made his way over to the table.

En route he nearly tripped over Artie in his chair. "Shit man! I'm so sorry!"

"No foul. I saw where you were looking. _There should be a law_ against that kind of dancing!" Artie let out a low whistle of appreciation. Sam would have replied but he could see Artie's attention was elsewhere which is why he had absentmindedly wheeled himself into oncomig traffic. Although how he was even able to see anything through his steamed up glasses remained a mystery.

"Who the fuck invited Sexy Mama, and why the hell didn't they do it a long time ago?" Now Puck had appeared from nowhere and Sam really wished that he would just go away.

Sam shrugged in a way that he hoped conveyed indifference but Puck wasn't done.

"Coz I mean seriously, if I wasn't already here with two girls, I would totally be all up in that. It's like she's come out of her shell and I need to be the one to introduce her to the world!" He smoothed back his Mohawk lecherously with one hand while tossing snacks into his mouth with the other. "It's gonna take a Puckzilla to be able to handle all _dat ass!_"

Luckily, that was the moment that Puck's two bimbos decided to make an appearance, grabbing an arm each and pulling him back towards the dance floor. The last thing Sam wanted was for Puck to be introducing her to anything but he had to bite his tongue. This was his screw up and he needed to figure out how to fix it before he lost her forever. He stayed silent with his fist clenched. Puck was his friend, but he swore if another word came out of his mouth, that friendship would come to a rapid end.

Yet Puck had to turn around for the final word. "But, _damn…_"

Sam had to silently agree. "Looks like Marcus beat you to it!" he shouted after him, noncommittally before turning back towards the drinks table. The music had turned old skool and Marcus was dancing a scarily close salsa to Outkast's 'I Like The Way You Move' while she shook her hips hard enough to make a grown man weep. It was too much to take. He looked over to where Marie was and she was getting her grind on with another skinny Cheerio. It just didn't have the same effect. The girl had no booty to bounce!

Tonight Sam needed to get his drink on. But his extreme thirst meant his first cup was going to be water, first to quench and second to dilute the killer hangover that he already knew he was going to have in the morning. He swallowed it down quickly in a couple of huge gulps. Bending forward slightly he ran his hand through his hair and exhaled loudly. Gathering his thoughts, he refilled the red solo cup with beer for himself and was spooning some of the ominously cloudy looking punch for Marie when Marcus stopped beside him.

"Fuelling up?"

Sam shrugged. "Yeah. Something like that." He muttered.

"Me too." He grinned at Sam trying not to overfill the cup with punch. "After all, we've got to keep the ladies _lubricated!" _He laughed stupidly at his own joke and Sam forced a grin. Most days he would laugh along, or even be the one to crack the joke. But today he just found it annoying. He watched as Marcus poured a variety of clear spirits into a cup before adding a dash of lemonade and a random mix of fruit juices.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a cocktail! What does it look like I'm doing?" Marcus looked at him incredulously as if he should have already known this. "Your friend's pitched up looking _mighty fine_, and I promised that in return for a dance, I would bring a cocktail over for her."

Sam eyed the cup with suspicion. The guy's hand had been heavy with the spirits. He had only seen Mercedes drink once, at Rachel's party, and it hadn't taken much alcohol at all to get her into the happy zone. Then again, she wouldn't like him butting into her business, so maybe he wouldn't.

* * *

><p>The temperature in the room got hotter and hotter as the night progressed, and couples danced closer and closer while others scattered around the house to find quiet corners for their own business. Sam continued to watch Marcus who had refused to allow an increasingly giggling Mercedes to dance with anyone but himself. She had finished her first 'cocktail' and was now drinking something blue from an unlabeled bottle. He didn't know why he was monitoring her drink intake, but something inside his head just made him do it.<p>

The music was now a slower tempo and Mercy's moves weren't so much dancing as being propped up by Marcus while his hands got bolder and bolder by the minute. Occasionally her eyes would meet Sam's and they would silently dare the other to look away first. At first they had glared at each other. Then Sam had nuzzled into Marie's neck without breaking eye contact and he could have sworn a flash of pain passed over Mercedes' face. He was still pissed off with Marie but figured if Mercedes could hold it together with Mercedes, then he could do the same with her. Next time their eyes caught over their partner's shoulders, she had slid her hands down to Marcus' ass and it had taken all his power not to rush over there and snatch them off. Now Marcus' face was buried in her neck and she was giggling and whispering something in his ear. Catching Sam's eye again she stopped whispering and smiling but continued to stroke the nape of the other boy's neck.

Sam was strangely angry and aroused at the same time. He was sure that she would never actually go through with anything with Marcus. But then again, she _had_ been drinking and Marcus _did_ have a reputation with the ladies. Once more, the image of those 'fuck me' pumps pointing to the ceiling accompanied by those unique Mercedes cries flashed into his brain only this time it was Marcus' bare butt that was getting busy.

Marie clearly felt his confused arousal too and wrongly assumed it was all down to her. She ground in closer to his rapidly tightening crotch and whispered that they should make a move upstairs. He was about to decline when he noticed Marcus pulling a drunkenly stumbling Mercedes behind him. Quickly he grabbed Marie's hand and headed towards them.

As they approached, Mercedes stumbled on her heel and Marcus quickly caught her by the waist. She giggled drunkenly and stifled a hiccup.

"Going somewhere interesting?" The question was addressed to Marcus but his eyes were on Mercedes. The smile was instantly wiped off her face and Marie stared questioningly between the two of them who were now glowering at each other. Mercedes was seriously drunk but did her best to hold his gaze without swaying.

"We're just going outside for some air. It's too fucking hot in here!" Marcus was oblivious to the rapid change in mood. He was just happy that he was about to get lucky.

It was Marie that eventually broke the tension by speaking up. "Well we're just going upstairs to _use the bathroom._"

Mercedes' eyebrows arched at the intonation in the words and Sam pretended not to notice. Suddenly his sneakers were the most interesting things in the room. "Come on Marcusss," she slurred "I need some air!"

The boy shot Sam a wink and the two of them were gone. Sam turned to follow Marie who was already at the bottom of the staircase. Once they were in the bathroom she slammed the door shut behind them and locked it, her eyes shining with anger.

"What the fuck was that all abo-"

Sam was in no mood for a fight, opting to pull the trick he usually pulled at Mercedes' front door of swinging her around, pushing her up against the door and kissing her senseless. If Mercedes was going to get lucky tonight then so would he! Marie recovered from her initial shock quickly, throwing her arms around him and deepening the kiss. She was an experience kisser and it felt good. In Sam's state of angry frustrated semi arousal anyone would do and Marie was more than willing. Their tongues danced around each other hungrily and he nibbled at her bottom lip, noting that it wasn't nearly plump enough for his liking but carrying on anyway.

"Mmmmm Sam..."

"Me- Mmmmmm..." Her name began with 'M'. There was too much of a risk of getting it wrong. Sam decided he wouldn't be using any names tonight.

He closed his eyes and hissed with pleasure as her hands ran up the inside of his shirt, caressing his abs and grazing his nipples. In return he traced his thumbs down her sides. He wanted to grab her ass, but she was totally lacking in that department so he continued down with his hands to the hem of her clingy dress. _Clearly I have joined the ranks of Puck and am now most definitely an ass man! _In response to his hand movements she wrapped her legs around him, causing the already high hem to stretch up even higher, revealing a flash of panties and the warmth of her core. He stood in between her legs, grinding himself up against her and listening as her breath became rapid pants.

Suddenly she screamed as somebody banged on the bathroom door, the vibration of the door snapping them both back to their senses. "Hurry up in there!" came a muffled voice.

"Fuck off! We're _busy!_" was Marie's frustrated reply as she regained her composure.

"But I'm desperate!"

"So use the one downstairs!"

The handle turned a couple of times before the person clearly gave up and left.

Sam grinned. As her legs were already wrapped around him, he carried her over to the vanity unit and moved aside a couple of items so he could place her in front of the mirror. _It would be pretty cool to fuck her in front of the mirror!_

He resumed his kisses briefly before pulling off his shirt and tossing it to the side. Marie purred at the sight of his bare chest and began licking his abs before kissing her way back to his neck and collarbone and marking him. For some unexplained reason it annoyed Sam that she had marked him. Sure it felt good, but he wasn't exactly wanting a reminder of this.

Their new location had put them next to the open bathroom window, and by turning his head slightly to avoid being bitten again he had now had a perfect view of the yard outside. Voices flowed up towards them. The speakers were too far away for the words to be made out, but suddenly Sam could see Mercedes and Marcus on the loveseat outside. Or rather, mostly Marcus as he was practically lying on top of Mercedes. It broke his concentration and he fought to get it back, continuing to grind up against Marie and reaching for the zipper at the back of her dress before realizing that it didn't have one. It was a tunic dress and all he needed to do was pull the fabric down which he did on one side to reveal a perky pink nippled braless breast. The thing was all nipple and no substance. Sure it stayed up on its own but there was barely enough to fill his palm let alone his whole hand like Mercedes'!

With the name flashing back in his mind he stole another glance out of the window before being caught by Marie who had opened her eyes and was now glaring at him. "What are you looking at outside?"

"Nothing!" He quickly clamped her breast in his mouth causing her eyes to close again and a moan to escape from her lips. But there just wasn't enough of it. He should be able to take big mouthfuls of it while palming the underneath with his hand! He tried to re-shift his focus but immediately he knew that his heart wasn't in it. For the first time in his life, getting it on with a girl just didn't feel right. Unfortunately for Marie, she chose that precise moment to make a grab for his belt buckle and he pushed it away. She gasped and narrowed her eyes at him. "What the-"

"I'm sorry. I can't…"

Sam backed away slowly before grabbing his shirt and pulling it back over his head.

"What do you mean you _can't?" _She sat there stunned on the vanity unit, dress hitched up and one breast exposed. The sight didn't even turn him on.

He looked at her, backing away and biting his lip apologetically. "You're… Not my type!"

"_Not your type? _What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean? I'm a Cheerio! You only date Cheerios! You're supposed to-" She stopped suddenly, realizing that he had unlocked the door and left, leaving her still perched on the vanity top with her breast exposed with everyone who had been standing outside the door staring straight at her.

The sound of her screams followed Sam as he fled down the stairs. If he couldn't do it with Marie then he sure as hell was not going to let anything happen between Mercedes and Marcus.

This was stupid. He had made a mistake.

And he needed to get to Mercedes before she made one too…

He would rather kill Marcus than let him have her...


	10. Let's Be Honest

"Whoa! Where are you heading off to so fast?" Mike smiled at his friend despite the fact that Sam had nearly knocked him flying in his haste. Clearly nothing was going to bring him down from the buzz of the private party he and his girl had spent most of the night having after Tina had 'danced' with Mercedes.

"Actually, I was looking for you. And Tina. Well- actually I was looking for Tina but I figured if I found you then she'd be nearby…"

Mike just grinned knowingly and nodded towards Tina who was heading towards them. Mike had an expression of smug satisfaction on his face and Tina looked decidedly more disheveled than she had at the start of the evening. As she got closer Sam spotted marks on her neck that he could have sworn weren't there at the beginning of the night either.

"Hey Sam!" Her voice was more like a contented purr.

"Hey!" He wasn't in the mood for extended conversation. He was a man with a mission. "I was wondering- do you know where Mercedes' purse is?"

"Her purse?" Tina frowned a little.

"Yeah. Just need her car keys. She's had a bit much to drink so I said I'd see her home safe."

"Oh. Well I guess that's ok. It's next to mine. I'll show you."

He followed her into a small closet under the stairs. Behind a box were two small clutch bags. Tina picked up the slightly larger of the two and handed it to him. "Is she alright? Do you want me to come outside with you?"

"Oh no. She's fine. Just outside getting some air. I think the combination of all the dancing as well as the alcohol got to her. Don't forget, she's a happy drunk just like you!"

Tina grinned. "Yeah. Just like me! But I haven't even had a chance to get drunk yet thanks to _somebody_!" Her eyes were trained on her boyfriend who was leering lecherously back at her. Sam didn't have the heart to tell her that she'd also put her top back on inside out and the label was showing. He was a man on a mission.

It didn't occur to Sam that he may have looked stupid clutching on to Mercedes' clutch. All he knew was that he had to get her away so that she could sleep off the alcohol and they could work things out properly.

He made his way outside and followed the sound of the giggling til he found them on the loveseat where he had seen them from the bathroom window. The sight of Marcus on top of her was enough to make his hands clench into fists. The red rose was now missing from her hair and one of her dress straps was now carelessly loose on her shoulder.

_There was no way on earth this should be happening!_

He watched helplessly for a moment as Marcus ground into her from his position lying between her legs, hands cupping her in places that made his blood boil with a rage that he was now more than prepared to accept as pure and all-consuming jealousy. Mercedes was still giggling. But it wasn't the usual sound he was used to. The pitch was slightly higher. Like she was… _nervous. _And her hands were actually slightly pushing him back. It was like her mind hadn't quite caught up with her body to receive the message that she was already in out of her depth. The problem was, when she finally did, she'd be too drunk to do anything about it, and Marcus was not the kind of guy to care if the girl he was with was totally out of her head or not.

From her position, she was the one to finally see him first and she instantly froze, a guilty expression passing over her face and her whole body stiffening as she saw the dark expression on Sam's. Feeling the change in her body's response Marcus lifted his head from where it was buried in her neck and looked at her face. "What's up baby?"

She said nothing, her eyes not breaking their connection with Sam's. He turned his head to see what she was looking at and cursed when he saw who it was. "Fuck off Sam! Can't you see we're busy?" The annoyance was clear in his tone.

Sam didn't even acknowledge his presence and continued his stare. "Mercedes. Can I have a word with you?"

Marcus didn't bother to even try to hide his irritation. "For fuck sake Evans. Not all of us are going for the bathroom quickie with a Cheerio tonight. Some girls have bodies that deserve to have the time taken to be fully appreciated!"

Sam's jaw clenched tightly at the words but he still ignored him, instead reaching out to her, keeping his voice calm and offering his hand. "Mercedes?"

She looked uncertainly between the two boys and Marcus clearly had enough, pushing himself off her and turning to face Sam fully. "Look, I don't know what the fuck your problem is but I need you to leave right now! Whatever it is can wait until I've finished with her. Then she's all yours."

This time she did break contact with Sam to shoot the stinkeye at Marcus. Even with a drunken lilt her voice was still full of sass. "Til you're finished with me? Like I'm some cheap toy that you can play with for a bit then pass to your friend when you've had enough!"

Sam grinned as Marcus recoiled from the venom of her words. But she wasn't done. She quickly pulled the strap of her dress back up onto her shoulder before spinning her head back rapidly to address Sam, her loose hair whipping Marcus across the face. "And _you! _You can have nothing to say to me after you spent the entire evening _whoremancing_ that skinny cheerio!" The words were slightly slurred but their force was still full.

Sam stepped back slightly, feeling thoroughly chastised.

There was nothing he could say in reply to that.

This time it was Marcus looking between the two of them with the same questioning expression that Marie had had earlier. "I feel like I'm missing something here. What exactly is the deal with you guys anyway?"

"Nothing!"  
>"Nothing!"<p>

They both replied in unison. And too quickly. That only made him eye them even more suspiciously. "Look, you both came here tonight as free agents. Sam pulled tonight and so did I. Only I intend mine to be a bit more than the bathroom quickie Sam seemed to settle for!"

"It wasn't-"

Mercedes was looking at him with an expression of disgust. "How was it Sam? Did you make her cum? Let me guess, you did it up against the vanity so you could watch yourself fu-!"

"I didn't fuck her!" He finally snapped.

His words stopped Mercedes mid-sentence. Her eyebrow shot up and her eyes reflected a myriad of emotions, one of which now seemed to be a little bit of hope. "You didn't?" Her voice was quieter now.

Marcus had had enough. "We that's bad luck for you Evans." He snaked his arm back around Mercedes' waist. "Well at least one of you is going to get lucky tonight!"

Sam glared down at him. "Take your hand off her!" His voice was calm and deliberate but full of seething rage.

Marcus grinned and pulled her closer. "I think not Evans. I'm looking forward to seeing just what all the fuss is about with this one."

Sam lurched forward to hit him. With lightning fast reflexes Marcus was up, deflecting Sam's blow with his forearm and pushing him square in the middle of the chest. It caused Sam to have to take a couple of steps back to regain his balance before charging forward, crouching low to tackle Marcus properly.

"_Stopit!_" Mercedes screamed to stop the fight before it began. She leaped up from the seat to hurl herself between the two boys. Unfortunately, in moving so quickly she hadn't factored in the effect of the sheer amount of alcohol in her system as the entire yard span and the two boys became a blur.

Sam spotted just in time that Mercedes was about to go down and much as he wanted to land on Marcus and pummel him to mush his body reacted faster than his rage and he reached towards her instead, allowing her to collapse heavily against him. Despite himself he took the briefest millisecond to enjoy the feeling of her body against his, and a slightly longer second to inhale her scent as it flooded up into his nose.

Marcus shot him the evil eye. Sam knew the boy wanted to sucker punch him but there was no way he would stoop so low as to do it while he had a girl in his arms. He grinned smugly at him over the top of Mercedes' head. "If you still want to get some action tonight then I suggest you go find Marie. Last time I saw her she was half dressed in the bathroom and totally gagging for it!"

"Go fuck yourself!" Marcus glared at the two of them in each other's arms and realized whatever happened it wasn't going to go well for him. He might as well go and make the most of the rest of the party. He gave them both the finger as he turned and walked away. "She wasn't fucking putting out anyway!" he yelled over his shoulder, taking small comfort in at least having the last word.

_That went far easier than I expected. There were no bruised fists of faces after all! _Sam pulled her closer to him and felt her body convulse with giggles. He drew back slightly to look down at her. "What's so funny?"

"You are!"

"Why?"

"I don't know. You're just funny!"

He shot her a concerned look. She still wasn't herself. That was the alcohol talking. He needed to get her to sober up. "Come on, it's time for you to go home."

"You're not my dad Sam. I'm not leaving!"

"Yes you are. You've had too much to drink and you're going to embarrass yourself."

She pulled herself out of his embrace. "Embarrass myself or embarrass _you _Sam?"

He'd walked right into that one. "Come on Cedes. Let's not do this here."

"Do _what _here? I came to this party for two reasons. To get my dance on and get someone to give me a good hard fuck. I've done the first bit and you've just managed to spectacularly cockblock the second. I need to go and find Marcus."

She started to make her way with a wobble back towards the house when he caught her hand, preventing her from going any further. She glared up at him through her long lashes. "What is it now Sam?"

"Why Marcus?"

She stopped for a second and seemed to pause before she spoke. "Because he's the only other guy who's shown a real interest in me." She leaned forward "And because it really seems to annoy the hell out of _you!" _She punctuated the 'you' with a poke to his chest from her forefinger.

Even now she had no idea how attractive she really was. How she had every guy in the room drooling as she shook her thing on the dance floor. If she went back in, she would definitely be able to pick up a guy. And he wasn't about to let that happen.

"Mercedes, you're gorgeous. And every guy at this party knows it. Every guy got rock hard just watching you dancing when you came in. I can't let you go back inside. Besides, you're drunk. They'll only want to take advantage."

"Maybe that's what I want!"

"No that's not what you want. You just want to get back at me. But going on a path of self-destruct is not the way to do it."

"Don't flatter yourself Sam. This isn't about you. I'm just feeling horny!" She pulled him closer. "And if I can't get what I want from in there, I guess I'll just have to settle for what's out here already." She ran her hands down his abs through his shirt and traced them down over his hips until she was gripping his ass. Then she reached up on her toes, changing her grip to his shoulders so that she could bring his face down for a kiss.

Her mouth tasted like Mike's Hard Lemonade. He felt his body melting into the familiarity of her, but his mind was crying foul. This _still _wasn't right. Technically he wouldn't be using her if she came on to him but she was still completely off her head. He broke away from her and she shot him a hurt look. "Don't you want me?"

"I'm taking you home. You're drunk."

"Oh no you're not! I'm still enjoying this party!"

"You're not even going to remember the party, the state you're in!"

"I'm not in any state."

"You're pissed as fuck Mercedes and I'm not going to let anything happen to you while you're like this!"

"I'm _not _drunk! I can walk in a perfectly straight line. _See!_" She took a few wobbly uncoordinated steps before deciding it was best if she sat on the ground to stop the world from spinning.

Sam left her where she was to grab her purse which he had left alongside the loveseat where she had been sitting with Marcus before helping her back up to her feet. "Where's your car parked?"

"Er Sam, I'm not sure I can drive."

"I know. I'm driving. That's why I have your keys."

"But you've been drinking too!"

"Only one pint. And that was ages ago. I never made it to the drinks table more than once all evening."

"Of course not. You were too busy feeling little miss _I think I'll wear this tube top as a dress tonight._"

Sam chose to ignore her but smiled inwardly at her jealousy.

"Are we going to make out when we get in the car?" she asked as he leaned her against the door while he unlocked the vehicle.

"No. We're going home."

"But I want to make out!"

"Get in the car Mercy!"

"Hey! You just called me Mercy! I never said you can call me Mercy! Only people who I lo- only my family are allowed to call me that!"

To be honest he hadn't even realized he had done it. He'd been calling her Mercy in his head for a while now, but it had never transferred into reality until now. "Look, I'll call you whatever you like as long as you just get in the car. I'm not insured to be driving it so I don't want to draw any attention to us!"

She opened her eyes wide then brought her finger to her lips in a 'shushing' motion. "Our secret" she smiled as she sat down , suddenly finding the seatbelt impossible to pull gently.

Sam slid into the driver's seat, slid it back slightly to adjust for his longer legs and helped her to belt up. He pretended not to notice her breathing hitch as he leaned across her to reach for the belt. This was going to be _really_ difficult…

* * *

><p>Thankfully it was a short and uneventful drive back to the Jones home but it was long enough for her to fall asleep. He debated waking her then opted for parking up in the garage to that he could just carry her up the stairs. Her parents were away at one of her father's dental conferences so he had no fear of helping her inside. She looked so peaceful while she was asleep, other than the occasional snore which escaped when her head lolled over to a certain angle. She stayed asleep until he laid her on her bed and regretfully started removing those spectacular 'fuck me' pumps from her feet. He looked down at them sadly. <em>Next time, my beauties, next time!<em>

He had just removed the second one and grazed a delicate kiss on her ankle when he looked up to see her staring down at him groggily. Sam smiled down at her. "How are you feeling?"

Her facial expression was all the answer he needed as she shot past him into the en suite, the sound of retching following closely after the door slammed behind her. Sam sighed. He was just going to leave her to sleep it off, but now it may be a better idea just to stay and see that she's alright.

He knocked gently on the bathroom door. "Are you okay?"

"What the fuck do you think?"

He groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long night.

He headed downstairs to put on some strong coffee for her, and by the time he came up with the tray bearing the mug of coffee, a large glass of water and a plate of Graham crackers he could hear the sound of the shower running. Sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard he waited for her to finish in the shower.

Sam awoke to the feeling of his face being smothered with kisses. His eyes jerked open to see Mercedes pressing up against him. He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep but this sure as hell didn't feel like a dream. She was on all fours crouched over him wearing nothing but an extremely sheer cerise baby doll without the matching panties. Her hair was now pulled back in a sleek pony. Before he could react she captured his mouth with hers. It tasted like coffee.

He pushed her back gently. "Wait! What are you doing?"

"I'm not drunk anymore Sam" she murmured leaning forward again reaching for his lips. "There's no reason for you to say no." It was impossible not to notice how her large breasts swung in the loose casing of the top of the nightdress, the lace allowing him to clearly see how taunt the nipples on them where. He looked in her eyes and in all honesty they were much clearer than they had been before. She'd probably hurled most of the alcohol straight back out of her system.

But now her kisses were distracting him. They were still broken up. They hadn't resolved this. They shouldn't be kissing like this. On her bed. When she's practically naked…

"Mercedes, what are we-"

"Shhhhh…" She kissed him again. Deeply, completely. And he was lost. He tried not to be but he couldn't help it. He was tuned in to her and only her. That body of hers had him totally under control. "I want you to fuck me Sam."

"But we can't- we're not-"

"Don't you want me?" She looked at him with her large eyes and he couldn't help but lust after her. "I told you the two things I needed tonight and they haven't changed."

"I need to cum Sam. Either I do it myself or you help me. Either way it's going to happen." He reached out to grab one of the breasts that swung tantalizingly in front of him but she immediately smacked his hand away. He frowned with confusion and she shook her head with a loud tut. "No touching. I want you to fuck me, not touch me."

_How the hell was he supposed to do that?_

"You're not my boyfriend, you just my replacement for Marcus. Just the guy who's going to get me off. This doesn't mean that I'm not still mad at you."

His brain was screaming that this was wrong but his eyes would not leave her as she pouted and crawled off him only to remain on all fours next to him.

He licked he lips, his dry mouth returning for the millionth time.

"I want you to get behind me and fuck me hard Sam. I want you to fuck me deep. Can you do that for me?" Her eyes were still on his but he knew that she could see the bulge of his painful erection. It wasn't fair. He had no control over this! And yet it completely turned him on that she was taking full control and telling him what to do. Especially when part of him really didn't want to!

Suddenly she was taking on his badboy reckless sex persona and it blew his mind. Tonight he was just an object to her, just like he had treated many girls before he had come to Lima. Before she came along.

She bent forward until her chest rested on the bedspread, her ass still in the air. She shook it so that the nightdress slid slightly down her back leaving it fully exposed. She didn't break eye contact as she slid a hand down her front and started stroking herself. Seconds later she hissed and he didn't even have to look to see what she was doing to herself. By the time she had removed her sticky fingers from her pussy and sucked them into her mouth he had leaped off the bed, removed his clothes and was rooting in her bottom drawer for one of his little golden packets and within seconds he was kneeling behind her, eyes wide in appreciation of _dat ass!_

Despite himself he had to take a moment just to watch her, the way she moved her hips as she pumped her fingers, the deep breaths she took and the small sounds she made with her mouth. _Knowing _that although it felt good to her, it wasn't enough. And the reason it wasn't enough was because it wasn't _him._

And then he was inside her. He'd pushed her hand out of the way, wiped the tip of his cock along her sticky pussy then pushed it all the way in while she cried out underneath him. Immediately she bucked her hips back onto him for him to start pumping and he did. He tried to lean forward and grab at her breasts and belly but she was having none of it, brushing him away. The most she would allow was his hands on her hips.

"Harder!" It was a request he was more than happy to comply with.

"Is that all you've got?" she sneered as he quickened the pace. "Marcus would have fucked me harder! Maybe I should have let him!"

_Now she was just going all out to make him mad! _He continued to pump into her harder and faster.

"More!" He was trying, he'd raised one leg so that he could put one foot flat on the bed for greater leverage. He could feel her walls around him and it was driving him crazy.

"Deeper!" He wanted to do that too, but his favorite way of doing that was pumping his hips while he was pressed right up against. her but this time she didn't want to be touched. It was making him really pissed off. She turned her head round to glare at him. "Fuck me good Sam! Fuck me like I'm a skinny Cheerio!"

Now he was getting truly angry and taking it out hard on her. She really needed to drop that whole Cheerio thing.

"Oooh yeah! Like that Sam! Harder! _Harder!_" He couldn't help it. He leaned forward and pressed himself into her back. She did her best to shake him off, causing him to break his rhythm.

"I said _don't touch me! _If you want to hold on to something, hold on to the headboard!"

"What the hell?"

"Just do it! Mount me like a pedigree and fuck me like a bitch on heat!" That sentence should have been funny but by this point he was pissed beyond belief. Without withdrawing, he pushed her forward with his hips so that he could reach and hold on to the headboard. Now with both feet flat on the bed for leverage he could slam into with the only physical contact being his hips to her ass. He felt stupid crouched above her, simply slamming his hips against her, but strangely enough it was working for her. He could feel that he was hitting her spot over and over again and her orgasm was closing in. Her words had descended into meaningless babble and she came with a burst of expletives. He keeps slamming into her through her contractions, wondering if the reason it hadn't triggered his own was the fact that he was just simply too pissed off.

Eventually he slowed down and pulled out so that she could calm down. His cock was still hard as a rock. He couldn't believe that he was so pissed off and felt so used that he didn't cum. He sat back down against the headboard angrily next to her and removed the condom, cock still standing to attention with its angry throbbing red head. He knew Mercedes was watching him through lidded eyes as she came down from her high but he didn't give a fuck about that. He spat into his hand and used that combined with the precum leaking from his tip as a lubricant to stroke himself.

Her eyes were fixed on his actions for a moment before they moved up his body, fixing on the mark that Marie had left on him. He'd totally forgotten about it and knew he was going to regret it having ever happened. "You said you didn't fuck her!"

"I didn't!"

"But you were naked." Her voice was emotionless as she said it.

"I may have taken off my shirt but that was all. It was only for a couple of minutes. The it was back on and I came to find you."

"Did she keep her panties on?"

"Yes. And her dress."

"But I guess that doesn't really mean anything with you. You love fucking me with my panties on and my dress around my waist."

"Mercedes-"

"Did you suck her clit?"

He sighed. "I did not suck her clit. I did not finger her pussy and I'm not discussing this anymore!" All this frustration was not helping him achieve his own relief and it was getting awkward.

She pushed herself up from the bed and straddled him once more, removing his hand from his cock and stroking it with her own. His body immediately remembered her touch and things started moving much faster.

"Why did you kiss me if you don't want me to touch you?"

She shrugged. "I was trying to wake you up."

It wasn't a satisfying answer but he decided not to push it this time. He leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes as he felt his impending release. Just before the crucial moment she reached over for a Kleenex to catch his cum. He watched her in silence as she cleaned him up and tossed the used tissue. Any other time she would have used her mouth.

"Why didn't you-"

"You're not my boyfriend. You're just a guy I decided to pick up and fuck tonight. Do you really expect me to take a strange man's cum into my mouth just like that?"

Sam didn't know what to say. There was pain in her voice and all he knew was that he had to try and make things better.

"I'm sorry Mercedes." She looked at him hard before climbing off him and lying back down on her side of the bed. "I mean it Cedes. I am sorry. I was wrong with what I said the other day and I was wrong in the way that I behaved tonight at the party."

She lay on her back, silently staring up at the ceiling. "Say something. Please Cedes!"

"It's after 2am. I need to go to sleep and you need to leave."

"I'm not going. We're both wide awake and I'm not leaving until we've had this conversation."

She closed her eyes and let out a long ragged breath. "You were with a Cheerio-"

"I already said I was sorry!"

She cut her eyes at him. "Let me finish Sam! You were already with a Cheerio by the time I got to the party. I was hoping Sam, I hoped all week that maybe you'd used the time to think about things. And maybe, just maybe, when I arrived at the party you would say 'to hell with it' and be all up on me from the word go. I was ready to forgive you. I wanted you back Sam."

He looked down at her as a tear escaped through her closed eyelids and felt wretched. "You were so busy with her that you didn't even see me walk in. I spent the entire day getting ready just so I would catch your eye but it was all in vain. It took all my willpower not to turn right around and run back out in floods of tears!"

Sam felt as if someone had kicked him in the chest. He had figured too late that Mercedes had wanted him to make a play for her at the party, but he had never considered how hurt she would have felt in those first few seconds after arriving. He reached out to touch her arm but she just brushed it away. "She's everything I'm not Sam! She's tall and skinny, popular and fashionable. You knew how I feel about myself and you rubbed my face in it.

"Cedes, I didn't mean-"

"Shut your mouth Sam! I don't want to hear it. You _knew _and you still did it. If you were with no girl then it would have been fine. But you sure as hell move fast. And that meant so did I. Marcus means nothing to me. But he does validate my existence and make me feel beautiful and desired. And that's what I needed. You didn't even try and come and dance even one song with me! I wanted to _feel._ You've stolen all my feelings from me and left me with confusion. And the worst part is because we're a secret, I can't even talk to anyone about it. Do you know how hard that's made things for me?" She finally opened her eyes and stared at him. "Do you?"

He swallowed audibly. Her pain ran deep. And so did his if he thought about the possibility of this never being fixed between them. "I'm so sorry Mercedes." Yes he'd just said it several times, but this time it came from the bottom of his soul. If he had to spend the rest of his life doing penance in order to fix this then he would with a smile on his face. Nothing could prepare him for how he felt. This wasn't feeling bad over hurting a friend. This was deeper. This was something else entirely. "What can I do to fix this?"

"I don't know Sam." Her voice sounded tired and was getting softer and softer. "I just don't know."

"For what it's worth, I spent the whole night comparing her to you. And you won out every time. I didn't have a good time. I had to watch every guy in the room drool at you while you were dancing. I had to watch Marcus take advantage. I had to watch you allow him to take advantage. I never want to be in that position again..." He sighed and continued more slowly, eyes also focused on the ceiling. "I know i've been an idiot, but for once in my life I know what I want now. And what I want is for us to work Mercedes. I want us to be a proper couple. Just like you always wanted. Do you think that maybe it's not too late for that to happen? Cedes? Baby? Cedes did you hear that?"

He looked down to see that her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and even, the emotional exhaustion having got the better of her at last.

There was no way that he was going home right now.

"Goodnight my dear." He whispered the words to her as he leaned over her to switch off the light and planted a feather light kiss on her forehead.

Pulling the sheet over both of them, he snuggled in as close to her as he could without disturbing her and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

><p>Sam was woken by the vibration of his phone which he had left of the bedside table. The time was 12.27. They had slept through the entire morning and he had work that evening. After checking that Mercedes was still asleep he reached over to retrieve the phone and read the message. It was from his mom.<p>

**Sam we figured you probably crashed out after your party but you need to come home now. We have important news to discuss as a family.**

He sighed. He had counted on finishing his conversation with Mercedes when she woke up and hopefully patching things up properly but now it was going to have to be deferred.

Whatever the news was that they were calling him back to the motel for had better be worth it!


	11. No Harm No Foul

_**Please don't hate me for this chapter. There is a reason for everything.**_

* * *

><p>Sam quickly pulled on his clothes, his eyes not leaving the beautiful sight of Mercedes as she slept. This morning had started off all wrong. During the night he had formulated a plan of exactly how today was going to happen. He was going to go downstairs and make her some breakfast. He knew her kitchen better than he did the one in their old Lima house. And then they were going to talk. And they were going to fix things. Because she was worth far too much to him to lose. He was going to hold her out of reach from Marcus or any of the other drooling guys from the party who might start getting ideas.<p>

And then they were going to have fantastic sex before he went to work. Not that weird twisted shit from last night, but some proper Southern '_luvin'._

He smiled and shook his head at that word. He wasn't saying that he loved her, it was just that… Last night was cold. It was better with feelings.

_Shit! He didn't mean that either!_

_Or maybe he did…_

On second thoughts, maybe now wasn't the greatest time to have this chat. He needed to get his head straight and his words in line. Words were not his strong point and he was determined not to talk himself into a corner like he had the tendency to do.

He looked at the clock and realized that ten minutes had passed. A whole ten minutes of him just standing watching her sleep! It was time to go. Sam leaned forward and kissed her cheek gently, brushing away a lock of hair which had somehow come loose. At some point during the night she must have got up because her hair was now mostly covered with a loosely tied scarf. It was a very domestic picture. Standing slowly, he took a mental photograph of her, preserving that image in his brain.

Reaching the door he turned back towards her and spoke quietly. "Don't worry. I'll be back later beautiful. Last night's clusterfuck of drama is in the past. Today is a new day. You and me baby, we're something special."

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

**Did you get my message? Are you on your way? We're waiting for you to have lunch.**

He sighed. And with one final glance at her he was gone.

* * *

><p>"Hey mom! Hey little guys!"<p>

"_Sammy!_" Stacy hurled herself at his legs, nearly toppling him over. "Where did you go? I was worried about you!" He grinned and picked her up, pulling her into a huge embrace.

"I slept at a friend's house because we were out late. I told ma that I might do that."

She buried her face in his chest before scrunching her nose. "Eeew Sammy, you smell sweaty!"

He laughed. "Yeah. That's coz these are last night's clothes and I didn't get to have a shower coz mom asked me to come straight home."

"Did you have fun at the party?" His mom was eyeing him seriously.

"Yeah. It was cool." The party seemed so long ago now. "So what's this important news? And where's dad? I thought you said we were having lunch."

She smiled at him. It was the happiest smile he'd seen from her in a long time, but it also held a hint of nervousness. "He's coming. If you're quick you have time for a shower before he gets here."

Sam looked over to the kitchenette corner of the motel room and noticed that everything was in order. There were no signs of food preparation. "So what's for lunch?"

Again with the smile. "It's a surprise Sam. Go have your shower and get dressed. By the time you get out dad should be back and he'll explain."

"Can't you tell me now?"

"No. We discuss this as a family. Now hurry. The kids are hungry and so am I!"

The expression on his mom's face was one he knew well. She could be stubborn sometimes, just like Mercedes. And with both of them it was always better to just let them be. He smiled to himself. His mom would totally love Mercedes. They had a lot of similar personality traits. He knew there was no way he was going to be getting anymore information right now so he grabbed his towel and a set of clean clothes and headed into the bathroom, praying that there would at least be a little bit of hot water left for him.

By the time he came out his dad was back and the kids we're climbing excitedly all over him despite his laughing protestations. Again, he had smiles that Sam hadn't seen for a long time. Dwight Evans had aged considerably over the last couple of months as had his wife Mary, but something had restored a glow to them and Sam prayed it was going to be good news that would get them out of this godforsaken motel.

"How was your party son?"

"It was good."

"So you slept over at Mike's then?"

"Well-"

"Sammy we're going to a _restaurant!"_

Never had he been so glad for Stacey's interruption. He really didn't want to have to lie to his dad, but he couldn't exactly share the details of what had gone down last night. And besides, what was this? They never ate out anymore. They barely had money to eat as it was!

"Dad! How can we-"

"Don't worry Son. It's only the local IHOP."

"But still-"

"All will be revealed." He stood and reached for his smiling wife's hand. "Are we all ready to go?"

Stacy was literally bouncing. Stevie was trying hard to look more dignified as the older one, but it was clearly obvious that he was excited too. There was only so much mac'n'cheese, ramen and leftovers from the pizzaria that can be eaten before insanity sets in.

Sam smiled as he followed them out the door. This could only mean one thing. His dad had found a job. They were going to be okay!

* * *

><p>Sam smiled at the waitress that brought their meals to the table. They had all ordered from the 7 for $7 menu. This was a treat but there were five of them and they weren't about to go overboard with it. The waitress reminded him of Mercedes. She was curvy with a chocolate skin and a pretty face. Well, actually, she looked nothing like Mercedes other than those three features. He just clearly wanted to think about her yet again.<p>

"So," his dad began, "As you've probably guessed, I've finally managed to get a job. And not just any cheap job, it's a managerial role similar to what I had before which actually one that pays pretty well. Enough to get us back living in a decent property again!"

Sam's smile was huge. Even if they left the motel tonight it wouldn't be soon enough! "Dad. I'm so happy for this!" he said with genuine appreciation.

"So am I. It's been unfair that you've had to work to support us, but that ends this week."

_Shit! He had forgotten about work. Being out for lunch meant he didn't leave enough time to pop back and see Mercedes before his shift starts._

"Sam! Did you hear me? You can quit your job now because it's no longer needed."

"That's great! No more late night shifts and stinking of pizza!" _And more time to spend with Mercedes!_

"But there is something else about this new job." Suddenly both parents shared that nervous look. Sam noticed but was distracted by the sudden realization: _I haven't told Mercedes where I am. She would have woken up alone thinking I've abandoned her!_

He quickly pulled out his phone to send her a text.

"Sam! This is NOT the time to be texting right now!"

"I know, it's just something I forgot earlier-"

His mom looked livid. "We are having a family discussion Sam. Hand over the phone!"

He desperately hit the keys as fast as he could.

"NOW SAM!"

**Chat later**

He managed to hit 'send' on the two word text before his dad snatched the phone away and his mom stashed it in her purse for safe keeping. She shot him that look of angry disappointment that made him feel like a five year old and he hung his head in shame.

"I can't believe you would disrespect your father like that. Let alone attempt to text at the table while we're eating. Haven't we taught you _any _manners Samuel Evans!"

"Yes maam. Sorry." There was no way he would be able to explain just how important that text actually was.

The kids noticed the tension and Stevie attempted to break it by cooing over the dessert menu with Stacey. "Hey mom, can we get a sundae after this?"

She snatched the menu away from him. "No! We're not made of money!" Then she caught herself and softened her tone. "But we will pick up a big tub of ice cream from the store on the way back so that we can eat it with a movie. How does that sound?"

The kids smiled and Sam saw the guilt in her face for having snapped at them. She ran her fingers through her hair in exactly the same way he always did when he was stressed before turning back to her husband. "I'm sorry Dwight. You didn't get to finish what you were saying."

All eyes were back on the sandy haired man and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "So, although I had my interview here in Lima, the job is actually located in their head office."

Sam felt as if someone had just run an ice cube down his spine. It was like Peter Parker having his spider senses going off. "And where exactly is this head office based?" he asked, food suddenly forgotten.

"Kentucky."

_Mercedes!_

"That's four hours away dad!"

"I know. That's why we need to discuss this as a family. It would mean that we would have to move all over again. I know that we've only been here a year and I appreciate that it means you kids would have to start over with new schools yet again!"

"I want to go to a new school" said Stevie "The kids in my class are horrible and say that I smell because I don't have a proper house!"

Sam's heart went out to his little brother. It hadn't been easy for any of them, and the kids in school could be really cruel. It was unfair that he was having to deal with the brunt of it at such a young age. "Sometimes they say stuff about Stacy too but she doesn't always notice."

Sam watched his mom bite her lip and fight back her tears at the boy's words. His dad took a long shaky breath. "What about you Sam?"

"My school is fine. I love Glee club and being on the football team. I've really found my place there." _And a girl that I'm actually really into._

"I see."

Sam shook his head. He knew how selfish it sounded. This was the perfect job opportunity for his dad. And his siblings really did need to get out of the school that they were in. He was the only one who wanted to stay. He had to think about the greater good. He stared hard at his plate, appetite completely vanished. It took every ounce of energy to force the words out "But this is too good an opportunity to pass up dad…"

_But Mercedes!_

He could feel four sets of eyes boring intently at him and he was glad for the long bangs covering his eyes on his tilted head. "How soon can you start?"

"Next Monday."

_Shit! That's only a week tomorrow!_

His mom took his hand but he refused to look up, knowing that his eyes were welling. Knowing that his world was crumbling.

It was his dad's voice that he heard next. "I was thinking, tonight could be your last shift at the pizzeria. You've not been there long enough to have to work off a notice period. And that way you can have your last week in Lima to hang out and say goodbye to your friends.

_I don't want to say goodbye to my friends._

_And I definitely don't want to say goodbye to Mercedes!_

Much as he hated it, this was not the time to be selfish. Especially with the kids at the table looking so excited. He blinked his eyes several times, and when he was confident they were no longer moist he lifted his head. "So when do we leave?"

"I was thinking Friday. One of the line managers has a small apartment that he usually rents out that he's willing to let us have rent free for a couple of months until we sort out our own place. If we drive down Friday after lunch, we can use the weekend to move in and get settled. Then next week mom can organize getting you guys into new schools and start looking for a part time job for herself."

Sam forced a smile and started eating again. "Sounds like a plan! Congratulations on the job dad!"

"Thanks son. Things will get better from now on, I promise."

Sam was quiet for the rest of the meal, allowing Stevie and Stacy to chat excitedly. How the hell was he supposed to break this news to Mercedes? Suddenly he was glad that he didn't have the chance to speak with her in the morning. Imagine if they had made things official in the morning, only for him to have to end things in the afternoon because he was having to move away?

No, he shouldn't be upset. He had a lucky escape. Technically they were on a break. So by leaving now he wouldn't be doing anything wrong.

Time passed quickly with his family, talking through their plans of winding things up at the motel and getting things organized for their new place. It was only a couple of short hours before he found himself dropped off at the pizzeria, he went to his locker to get changed for the shift while his dad spoke to his manager about him leaving.

The shift passed quickly with Sam being so lost in thought. A new start, a new state, a new school…

He looked at the clock. It was 11pm. He should be texting Mercedes to say goodnight.

_SHIT!_

He was going to speak to her today after leaving so abruptly in the morning! He fished in his pocket for his phone, only to remember that it would still be in his mom's purse after she took it off him at the lunch table. He cursed. She was going to hate him. First for leaving without a word in the morning, and now for being unreachable when he had texted that they would chat later.

And most of all for not being able to make things right with her.

They could barely get things right when they were in the same town. They would never be able to make it as a long distance relationship. He was a boy and he had needs. Kentucky was a new town, a new student body, a new pool of fresh pussy.

Surely it wouldn't take him long to forget what he was leaving behind here.

Maybe being in Lima had made him go soft. Lima had been the place where he had attempted to have actual relationships with girls and all it had done was result in constant heartache. Maybe this was his opportunity to go back to what he knows best.

Sure Mercedes would be mad be she would get over it soon enough. And being mad would help her get over it faster. Leaving this way would protect her. She had broken things with him. All he had to do was leave things exactly as they were.

_But it's not just her you're protecting is it?_

_Maybe you're trying to protect your own heart too!_

Heart? What the fuck did his heart have to do with anything? Yes he'd miss the 'booty-call' afternoons. But that was it. Okay and maybe the friendship too. The cooking together and the food fights. The movie watching and the trying out of his impressions. The comic book reading and the Anime watching. The kissing and the cuddling.

_Cuddling? What the fuck?_

Maybe moving was a good thing. Maybe he _was_ getting soft. Sam Evans didn't do cuddling. And he sure as hell wasn't going to add cuddling to the list of things that he was going to miss. Cuddles from Stevie and Stacy were more than sufficient.

When he got home he was going to have to thank his dad. He was having a lucky escape. If he spent anymore time around this girl he would be left with an emotional attachment. And Sam Evans doesn't do emotional attachment. He fucks them and leaves. Mercedes Jones was a mistake. Getting involved with a virgin is always a mistake. They get attached and are hard to shake off. He was getting a lucky escape and should be thankful.

To walk away at this point would be totally acceptable. _No harm no foul. Right?_

And to think he had nearly talked himself into believing that they had something special!

Sam chose to ignore the heaviness that had settled on his chest and the self-doubt in the back of his mind and went back to folding pizza boxes.

He told himself over and over again.

This was a lucky escape…


	12. Open Your Eyes

San Evans was a coward. He knew he was. He just didn't need his subconscious reminding him of it every hour of every day. But it did. And it hurt. But there wasn't a lot he could do about it.

The first person he had told of his imminent departure was Mike Chang. He liked the guy. He really did. Out of the whole football team he was the one that he had the most in common with. The guy was fun as well as being the most stable. And Mike was definitely the most real. He totally saw himself going on double dates with him and Tina when they weren't sucking each other's faces off.

There he goes again! What's the point of even thinking about stuff like that? _Nothing was ever going to happen!_ And much as he liked spending time with the guy, he had one major flaw. The guy was pretty fucking insightful. If anyone was going to figure out about him and Mercedes it would be Mike. And the guy was so pretty damn close it was scary. Mike knew they were close as friends but had asked on several occasions if anything had gone down when he had taken her home from the party. Apparently Marcus had gone back inside shooting his mouth with shit about Sam, only to very publicly hook up with Marie just minutes later.

"Come on man, she's hot! Are you really saying that you were able to resist that?"

Sam stayed silent and put all his concentration into a shot which landed the basketball perfectly through the center of the hoop outside Mike's garage.

"Coz I know if it wasn't for the fact that Tina would be all up my ass and unwilling to share, I know I would be more than tempted to go for it. Trust me, I'm telling you as a dancer, _that girl can move!"_

Sam fought the lopsided smile that was forming on his mouth. He didn't need to be told that. He knew _all about_ her moves. He dribbled the ball for a moment. "I'm not denying that she's hot…"

"Damn straight you're not. I'm sure we were both looking at the same firework in that silver dress with those shoes that I made Tina order a pair of so that we can-"

Sam cringed. "Too much info dude!"

Mike looked unrepentant. "But you know exactly what I'm saying. You're single, she's single, you get on really well and Marcus clearly couldn't 'tap dat'! Time to step up man! Besides, you know how we all like to keep it in the Glee club!"

"But she's way out of my league. She'd never go for someone like me!"

"That's crap and you know it! Puck tried last year but crashed and burned because she could see right through him. Not only are you picture perfect poster boy, you guys already hang out. She already likes you for who you are. You're just taking things to the next level. Unless you're stuck in the dreaded 'friend zone'. That shit just hurts and you'll need to make her see you in a different light."

"Even if we could go out you're forgetting something major. I'm leaving Lima in three days. How the hell am I supposed to start a relationship when I'm about to leave?"

Mike paused for thought, dribbling the ball absently. "That's true. The timing sucks. But if you really like her enough I'm sure that you could make it work."

Sam bit his lip. He wasn't prepared to deal with that particular truth. He was a coward. And time and circumstances did not give him the opportunity to change that. If Mike thought that he and Mercedes were a good fit, then he wondered who else would think so too. Was he wrong to have kept them a secret like they had been for so long? Had he ruined this with his own stupid assumptions? Mike hadn't even mentioned his homelessness as being an issue and Mercedes had repeatedly told him that it was no big deal. Had he been sabotaging the one good thing that had been going on in his life?

He knew that he should talk to Mercedes, but now he just didn't know how.

By Tuesday word of his departure was out. Kurt and Quinn had called, and surprisingly, so had Puck and Lauren.

Wednesday night Artie had organized a barbeque for the gang in his honor. Mercedes wasn't there. Artie said that she had a family thing that she couldn't get out of and she sent her apologies.

Sam could smell the bullshit a mile off. If she genuinely couldn't have made it she would have at least sent some food. But she was mad at him. And with good reason. Mercedes was the one person that he still hadn't spoken to directly about his imminent departure. It wasn't intentional on his behalf to leave her in the dark like that. He just didn't know how to do it. They both knew it had to be done, but they sure as hell weren't going to be airing out their dirty laundry in public.

* * *

><p>Sam stood outside Mercedes front door for fifteen minutes before he finally worked up the courage to knock. It then took every ounce of the self-control not to turn and run like a bat out of hell.<p>

He had spent the entire week panicking about how this meeting was going to go down and now the time was here. He had no idea what the outcome would be, but owed it to her to at least do this in person.

They were originally supposed to be leaving on Friday afternoon, but there was now a meeting at his new office that it would be prudent for him to attend, Sam's dad had decided it would be far more sensible to leave on Thursday midafternoon. A Skype linkin was not going to cut it as a professional. Dwight knew that it meant less time for his kids in Lima, but as far as he was aware, they had already said their goodbyes and were looking forward to one less night in that hellhole they called a motel room. There was no way on earth he could have known what that small change of plans had done to Sam.

And now here he was, his heart sinking with every approaching step that he heard, like a man on death row listening to the approach of the man who was going to flick the switch that would end his life.

And then there was the sound of the front door being unlocked and opened. Her eyes immediately met his. "Oh _hell to the no!" _

As soon as she caught sight of him she attempted to slam the door back on him but he moved faster, putting his foot across the threshold and pushing the door to keep it open, knowing that he was stronger than Mercedes and knowing that we would never be able to shut it against him without assistance. But both of her parents would be at work. There was nobody there to help her this time. After a few moments of pushing the door against him she gave up trying. Her whole body language became slumped. She knew this was coming one day, she just wished it hadn't been so soon.

There were already tears in her eyes as she looked up at him and his heart broke.

He hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry I didn't call-"

His words were the trigger to end her sadness and incite her anger. "A two word text Sam! That's all I got! 'Speak later'. That was on _Sunday!_ And then nothing-"

"Let me explain-"

"Explain what Sam? Explain why I had to hear from Tina that you're leaving? _Tina! _She has to be the one to tell me! Since when do I have to start getting _third hand_ information on your life? Maybe I should call Tina and tell her to tell Mike to tell you 'good riddance'!"

"I didn't mean for you to hear it like that!"

"Oh really! Like you didn't expect Artie to text me to invite me to the barbeque at his place last night in honor of _you leaving!"_

Sam had expected her to shout and scream at him. But this was far worse. Her voice was quiet, barely a whisper. But it was so pained that he could feel it in every bone in his body. He had done this. He had hurt her. And there was no way in hell that he was going to be able to fix it. Why did he always allow himself to end up in this position?

He wanted to look her in the eye but he couldn't. The pain reflected in there was too much. "Why Sam?"

He finally looked up.

"Why what?"

"I know I was mad at you at the party, and I know I was wrong with the way that I treated you here. But… you stayed. I tried to explain and you stayed. You didn't leave. I had this amazing dream about you and me and when I woke in the night you were there beside me, holding me. And I felt…" She shook her head sadly. "I had a dream that night. That you wanted to make this work. That you wanted me. And not just in a possessive way because you saw somebody else wanted me, but in a true honest way. It scared you but you were going to go ahead with it anyway. And then I woke up and you were gone. No explanation, no nothing!"

"My mom sent a message-"

She shook her head and held up her hand for him to stop. "I opened myself up to you. You saw how messed up and vulnerable I was. And you didn't even say goodbye. I cried all day. No 'goodmorning' no 'goodnight'. Just a two word text to say we were going to have a non-existent chat. That was cold Sam. Even by your standards. I was left with my brain running over everything that had happened to see at what point I made you leave. Did I say something in my sleep? Because, if I did then I'm sorry. It's the only reason I could think of to cause you to go. Otherwise you would have left that night and not slept next to me. I woke up in the middle of the night Sam and I was in your arms. For the first time in my life I felt truly content and happy. For the first time in my life I just lay there and enjoyed the feeling of someone breathing next to me. When I had to get up you tried to pull me closer even though you were still asleep. And you said-" Her voice broke and a tear ran down her face..

_What the fuck is she going on about? _"What did I say?"

She looked at him searchingly, clearly hoping that he would remember for himself. But he didn't. The expression changed to utter devastation when she realized that he had no recollection of it.

"It doesn't matter. You clearly didn't mean it."

He grabbed her arm. "Please Cedes! What did I say?"

She shook her head and began to prise his fingers from her arm one by one. "You need to go now Sam."

"No!" His voice was firm and she immediately looked up at him. "I'm not going until you tell me what I said!"

She shook her head faster and her voice grew colder. "I can't Sam. If you can't remember then you're clearly not ready to handle it. You came here to say goodbye to me so say it and leave."

"Mercedes! I'm begging you."

"Don't beg Sam. It's not a good look."

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. This was supposed to be easy. They were already broken up so it shouldn't cut this much to say goodbye. "We're leaving this afternoon, not tomorrow."

He noticed the wobble of her bottom lip before she nonchalantly bit it to keep it still.

"So this is it now. You've come to finish your rounds of saying goodbye with me! I had hoped you would have started with me, but I guess I'll just take what I can get I suppose."

"It's not like that!" He wanted to shake her and make her see sense.

"Then what _is_ it like?"

"I didn't want to say goodbye. I don't want to say goodbye. I put it off because it hurt too much."

"Aha! Some honesty. Shame we couldn't have achieved this level of communication when we were actually together."

Sam shrugged. "I know it's all my fault. I'm emotionally retarded."

"Damn right you are! You stood in my kitchen and told me that you were going to tell the world about us when the time was right. But it's never going to be the right time. It was the right time for you and Quinn. For you and Santana, but never for me."

"I'm sorry Mercedes. I'm sorry for messing with your head. I'm sorry for not manning up. I'm sorry for giving you false hope."

She glared at him through her lashes. "Hmmmph!"

"Look, I know you may not believe me. But you've done nothing but offer me friendship and I'm eternally grateful for that. I have a lot to thank you for. I have to thank you for the tutoring, for the anime, for the movie afternoons-" he stepped closer to her as he spoke "for the laughs and the smiles. For the moments of just being ourselves. For helping me with the kids and for the lifts to work. And last but not least, for the fried chicken, and pot pies and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and other goodies that find their way out of that industrial sized fridge of yours."

He watched as she cracked a smile despite herself. "I guess I've got stuff to be thankful for too. Apparently, if it wasn't for you, I would never have known that I can give a pretty awesome blowjob!"

Sam choked trying to suppress his laughter and her smile back at him was the most genuine one that he'd had from her so far. "Let's not ruin everything that we managed to build up." He held his arms out open wide to her. "Friends?"

She looked at him skeptically.

"It's just a hug Cedes, Puck didn't look that scared when I hugged him!"

She chuckled before stepping forward and into his embrace. "Friends" She muttered under her breath. Sam could never get enough of the feel of her in his arms. She fit so perfectly and smelled so good. Even now, in a sleep shirt and a messy pony she still did things to him that he really wished she didn't as he was hugging her platonically. He buried his face in her neck and he inhaled the scent that was uniquely her. As she relaxed into the embrace he pulled her in closer. "I'm so sorry!" he whispered in her ear.

"I know" she whispered back.

At what point he started kissing her neck he didn't know, but suddenly he was and she wasn't pushing him away. She was lifting her head so that he could trail kisses along her jaw. Pulling her in even tighter she gasped as she felt his hard on pressed up against her.

Sam couldn't believe his luck when she began to rub up against it. "I bet Puck's hug was nothing like this" she whispered throatily.

"That's coz a certain someone hadn't mentioned the words 'awesome blowjobs' immediately before it. Besides, he's not my type."

"And I am?"

Sam said nothing, finding her lips and making sure that she couldn't argue back. She continued to rub against him harder until finally he had to pull back. "Cedes, if you don't stop that I won't be able to stop myself."

In response she threw one leg around him, rubbing her panty clad pussy directly against the bulge in his jeans and moaning at the sensation. "So don't."

"But we're friends!"

"Friends help each other in times of need."

"And I'm definitely sensing a need right now." He grabbed her ass and pulled her higher against him, copping a feel of his favorite place as she rubbed even harder.

"Let's take this upstairs!" Her voice was breathless.

"Are you sure?"

"Don't question it. This is one last ride. No strings. Friends helping each other out. For old time's sake."

He found her lips again and nibbled down on them hungrily. "For old time's sake."

"That's right."

He clasped both hands under her ass and lifted her, her legs immediately wrapping themselves around his waist and he carried her up the stairs. He would worry about the no strings bit later, but for now he was more than happy to make them both feel good one last time.

* * *

><p>But this time was different to the others. After the intense grinding in the hallway, there was no frenzy of kisses. No bites or scratches or screams of obscenities or shouts of encouragement. Kisses were soft and lingering, touches were caresses. Every inch of their bodies was kissed, caressed and committed to memory.<p>

All clothing slowly removed, they were laid out on top of the covers

Today Sam put aside all his wants and focused solely on Mercedes, kissing every inch of her caressing every curve and fold. Telling her without words that she was perfection just as she was. When his lips had worshipped every inch of her, he returned them to hers, starting with soft butterfly kisses until she whimpered for him to make them deeper, firmer and he responded by biting down slightly on her bottom lip before absorbing her moans with his mouth once more.

"Cedes, open your eyes." She shook her head as if scared to wake up from the dream.

"I need you to look at me. Please." His tone had become urgent and she responded by looking straight into his eyes. "I need to see you baby. And you need to see me."

She looked straight up at him and he kissed her one more time before pulling her legs wider and pushing his cock into her core. He kept contact with her eyes as they narrowed slightly at his penetration, then widened as he slipped his length inside her, her mouth opening and a slight hiss escaping her lips.

"Stay with me Cedes." He could see that she wanted to close her eyes and lose herself in the sensations, but he needed to see her. He needed to be connected. He didn't even want to blink and break it. Reaching down he grabbed her hand, interlocking the fingers as he had done on their very first time. Then he began to move inside her. Long gentle thrusts, reveling in the sensations. Of her tightness. How it squeezed the tip of him so well. How she was so damn wet for him.

How they fitted so perfectly.

Their movements were languid and unhurried. As if they had all the time in the world. As if he didn't have to leave soon. As if this wasn't really their last time. The only sounds they made were grunts and sighs. Murmurs of pleasure and of something else. He held her gaze, trying to tell her something without words, letting his body say the things that his mouth was too scared to say. About how he really felt about her. And about how he felt about leaving her.

He brought his their joined hands up to his mouth and turning them so that her hand was on top, he kissed it softly and tenderly. A tear escaped her eye and left a wet patch on the pillow. He placed his face down next to hers and soon began to worry that the rapidly spreading wet patch on the pillow wasn't just coming from her.

She moved underneath him, changing the tilt of her hips as she always did, helping him to hit straight and true. Now her head was tilting back and her eyes closed but this time he let her. His thrusts were becoming faster and harder. His lips locked onto her neck, sucking on her pulse point while the sound of her satisfied moans and gasps filled his ears.

Again he felt her body change, internally this time and without conscious thought his hips complied with even stronger, faster thrusts, his cock withdrawing less and less but pushing deeper and deeper.

"Open your eyes!"

She did. But her eyes were wild. They kept rolling back into her head. Every thrust of his hips caused a gasp of air or a groan to come out of her mouth. She looked caught between pleasure and pain.

"Please Saaam…" he words were more like a moan.

"I know baby." Their bodies continued to move, slick with sweat, on a one way track towards the inevitable. The earlier restraint was gone and in its place a desperate intensity. Sam pounding into her while her hips rocked back against him, sucking him in deeper and deeper, her walls staking a claim and refusing to let him go.

"Mercy!" Was it her name or was it a plea? He didn't know but it was the word on his lips as he spilled out into his condom. He hadn't meant to come first but something had come over him. He was overwhelmed. It was all just too much. He could feel that she was only milliseconds behind him, clenching with an impossible tightness to milk every last drop out of him. And then some.

He didn't pull out right away. He collapsed against her, holding some of his weight off her with his arms and staring at her face as she hit the pinnacle of pleasure before sliding back down. It was the strongest he had ever seen her have. Finally he rolled off and slipped out, the condom uncomfortably full.

Once he had tied and chucked it and cleaned himself up with a Kleenex he turned to see her staring sleepily at him. He reached over to stoke her cheek tenderly.

"You're going to be gone when I wake up aren't you." Her voice was sad and resigned. She knew the answer and was simply vocalizing the question more as a statement for acknowledgement.

"Shhh… Close your eyes."

He kissed both of her eyelids softly. Then, as he had done for her first kiss, he softly kissed her nose, followed by her left cheek, then her right cheek and her jawline. By the time he reached her lips he knew by her lack of response that she was asleep.

Being careful not to disturb her, he reached for his phone and took a picture of her serene and contented sleeping face. _Not for sentimentality. Just because she looks pretty like that._

_And now it's time to go._

* * *

><p>Sam paused at the front door briefly and took a deep breath. Once he crossed through that door, everything would change.<p>

Finally mustering up the courage he left the house, shutting the door behind him and not turning back. The Sam inside that house was admitting to feelings that were new and strong and fearsome. Feelings that had the power to hurt him. That Sam needed to stay behind that door. Now that he was back outside he was a new man. A different Sam. Old Sam. The playboy with a lot more swagger.

And yes, the swagger was back. He had a reputation to create and maintain.

Despite himself he turned back and looked at Mercedes' house one last time. Somewhere inside that house he had left someone that he wanted to be. Something better. A person who was never given a chance. A person who could be happy making someone else happy.

Plus he'd just had the best sex ever!

He quickened his pace, knowing that his family would be wondering where he was as they were due to be leaving the motel shortly.

But his brain was full of that infernal question. Can a guy and a girl 'just be friends' like that without feelings?

Surely the answer was yes!

Sure things had got a bit complicated towards the end, but he'd gotten away just fine. With the best of both worlds.

Hadn't he?

The answer was not nearly as clear cut as he had hoped.

Just like his feelings.

Struggling to ignore the telltale sting behind his eyes and heaviness in his chest he shoved his fingers in his pockets and hurried towards his new future in Kentucky.

* * *

><p><em><strong>OK so this is the end of Infernal Question. Not the ending that people wanted I know, but as the prequel to I'm Back it has to end here. And to think this was originally only supposed to be a twoshot! Lol!<strong>_

_**I will definitely be continuing I'm Back!**_ **_because we all know this Sam is in denial. Besides, this has been so much fun and makes me feel like a proper writer._**

**_Thanks to everyone for the reviews and the feedback. I scream every time i get a new one and I read them over and over again!_**

**_Thankyou for reading and following and i'll see you all with I'm Back! (Coz despite the fuckery in the show, we all know it's Samcedes FTW!)_**


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